


Trials and Tribulations

by CosMoe



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: ADHD, Anal Sex, Bisexual Male Character, Bodily Fluids, Bodily Functions, Break Up, Drunkenness, Eretstrid, F/M, Feelings, Feelings Realization, Flat Sharing Community, Friends to Lovers, Fun, Grief/Mourning, Heartache, Hiccstrid - Freeform, Jealousy, M/M, Male Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Minor Character Death, Oral Sex, Pansexual Character, Sad with a Happy Ending, Sex, Sharing a Boyfriend, Slow Burn, True Love, True Mates, Tuffcup - Freeform, Tuffstrid, Unexpected feelings, Vaginal Sex, dick - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:46:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29571252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosMoe/pseuds/CosMoe
Summary: Astrid Hofferson, a student of law and part-time trainer at a gym wants to be independent after her long-term boyfriend Hiccup has broken up with her.She has to get used to doing without his wealth and looks for a cheap room near her college.In her desperation, she moves into a flat-sharing community, in which she lives with Snotlout and Tuffnut.The one flirts with her, the other ignores her, but both disrupt her privacy.Astrid isn't sure if she rather should move somewhere else until she really gets to know the guys during a drinking game.Unfortunately, she doesn't wake up in her own bed the next morning and a series of trials and tribulations start.It becomes more complicated when Tuffnut gets a job offer from Hiccup's father's company.Tuffnut and Hiccup get to know each other and Tuffnut, who never seems to be seriously interested in anyone, finds out he has a thing for Hiccup.And on top, there's something between Snotlout and Tuffnut that Astrid can't really grasp.What's the thing about Dagur and Eret?And what will be in the end?
Relationships: Astrid Hofferson & Snotlout Jorgenson, Astrid Hofferson & Tuffnut Thorston, Astrid Hofferson/Tuffnut Thorston, Eret/Astrid Hofferson, Fishlegs Ingerman/Ruffnut Thorston, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Tuffnut Thorston, Snotlout Jorgenson & Ruffnut Thorston & Tuffnut Thorston
Comments: 20
Kudos: 9





	1. From scratch

"Uh, hey! My name is Astrid Hofferson, I talked to one of you on the phone because of the room," the blonde girl stated and shifted from one foot to the other.  
She stood on the top floor of an old building with four floors.  
The current residents of the flat, two young men, who couldn't look more different, glared at Astrid with arms crossed in front of their chests.  
Then they exchanged a meaningful look.

"Yeah, that's been me. Actually, we were looking for a male flatmate, but we're quite desperate, so we thought we could accept female applicants too. But when I look at you... I don't know if that's down your alley," the shorter one said and he kept looking at her without expression.

First Astrid had felt nervous, but now she felt annoyed.  
"Look, I am desperate too. I had a break-up, I have only a little money and no car so that I could commute to college and back. Your flat provides all I need: four walls and a ceiling, a bathroom and a kitchen, not far from college. I made the way out here, so I could at least have a look at the room, don't you think?"

The men looked at each other and shrugged.  
The taller one made way for Astrid to enter. "Come in," he rumbled.  
Astrid thought that he had a very charismatic voice.  
They went through a corridor.  
"First door on the left – bathroom," he explained and opened the door.

A small room with white tiles was hidden behind. It was clean, smelled fresh and two hemp plants stood on the window sill.  
Askingly Astrid looked at the two men. The taller man, who was sporting waistlong blond dreadlocks, returned Astrid's gaze, then he replied: "Best light of all rooms."

He shut the door and went to the door across the bathroom. "My room," he announced and Astrid could take a peek on two huge desks, one equipped with lots of art supplies and the other loaded with a computer, joysticks, headsets, and many other gaming devices. Another hemp plant on the window sill. A smell of weed, pizza and worn clothes met Astrid's nose and she nodded.  
Then he smashed the door and went on.

"The room next door is his," the blonde thumbed at his friend, who opened the door and let Astrid have a look at his meticulously tidied room.  
"Oh, I wasn't expecting that. It's so clean. What is that over there?" Astrid asked and before she could be held back she stood in front of a large terrarium.  
She looked at the creature in astonishment and whispered: "An iguana! He's beautiful!"

"His name is Hookfang," the shorter man said, "and my name is Snotlout."  
"Snotlout?"  
"Long story, don't ask."  
"Shall I call you Snotlout when I live with you? Or would you prefer me calling you by your actual name?" Astrid wanted to know.

"Whoa, slow down! You haven't even seen your room. It's pretty small and you won't fit a dressing table into it," Snotlout reasoned Astrid.  
"Do I look like I was bringing a dressing table? I have most of my property in this trolley over there. Only a few things to pick up at my ex's apartment. But to be honest, you don't seem to be very keen on getting this room rented," Astrid mumbled with furrowed brows.

The taller one puffed a laugh and said with a crooked smile: "I am Tuffnut. And I want you to call me Tuffnut, no matter where you live. I accept abbreviations like Tuff or Tuffy, but when you call me Tuffy it has to be important... Let's have a look at your room and the rest of our flat. You'll have to answer some questions in the end, brace yourself!"

Astrid's room was small indeed, but all she needed would fit in there – a bed, a desk and a shelf for her books.  
The closet was ridiculously tiny, but Astrid was practically inclined and didn't own many clothes after all.  
"I like it," she announced, "I'd have to buy a new bed and a desk, but I could probably find what I need at Ray's second-hand furniture store. Maybe you guys could help me with bringing it up here when it's about time."

Snotlout and Tuffnut exchanged a look and then looked at Astrid.  
"Why do you want to live with us so badly? You don't know us but already make plans how Tuff and I assemble your furniture-" Snotlout suspiciously asked but was interrupted by Astrid.  
"No, I assemble all by myself. I can carry most of my stuff myself too, but a bed is usually too bulky to be carried alone."

Snotlout was at a loss of words due to Astrid's deadpan statement and patted Tuff's arm to go on.  
"Would you please follow, what was your name?" with an exaggerated gesture Tuff bid Astrid visit the rest of the flat.  
"Sorry guys! Didn't I say it? My name is Astrid. I like your couch, it looks cozy! And your kitchen is nice too. I like your table, it's huge! I like it all. Now ask your questions so that you can decide whether I can move in or not."

Flabbergasted Tuffnut pulled a folded sheet of paper from his rear pocket and unfolded it with a wrinkled forehead.

"Uh, do you bring girls home often? Or guys. You have just broken up, so I don't think so. But maybe you bring your friends here often and giggle and gossip all the time?"  
"Negative. I haven't too many friends because I focus on my studies. Next one."  
"That's good because I work from my home office and need peace to work.  
Yeah, next question: How do you earn your money?"  
"I work at the gym and give classes three times a week. Mainly I study law."  
"Oh fuck," Tuff burst out, "the plants are all male and I never smoke pot of course!"

Astrid laughed and punched Tuff's arm. "You can't imagine how many law students blaze and booze!"  
"So you don't bother or squeal me to the cops?"  
Astrid rolled her eyes and sighed: "Next question, please!"  
"Can you cook?"  
"No, unfortunately not. I can prepare a salad and put meals into the microwave, and I manage to heat something in the oven, but that's it."  
"Too bad," Tuff moaned and looked at Snotlout.  
"So it will be my task to get something healthy into your scrawny bodies? Mr. Lanky over here believes that a meal is healthy enough when you put tomato sauce on dough and gratinate it with cheese."

Astrid grinned: "If Tuffnut orders pizza and I prepare a salad additionally we have half a healthy meal."  
Snotlout shook his head and groaned: "No way, lady! I'll teach you the basics at least. Next question: any pet-peeves? Such like screaming Spanish soap opera themes while having sex, having single socks stuffed beneath the cushions, not washing your dishes, leaving the door open while wanking or peeing?"  
"Ugh, no! Who would do that?" Astrid snorted and chuckled.

"Welcome on board then and good luck with getting used to Tuffnut's freak show. I try to educate him for three years now but only with little results.  
So, don't you complain later and say we wouldn't have warned you."

"Spanish soap opera themes?" Astrid huffed and stared bewilderedly at the two men.  
"I made that one up. But you know what I meant, don't you?" Snotlout smiled mischievously.

Astrid nodded, then she said: "Now I have to ask some questions as well.  
Are you insane ax murderers? How old are you? Do you put the tiny rest of the milk back to the fridge? Do you eat food that doesn't belong to you, such as yogurt? Do you fart, burp, and scratch your balls where ever you walk? Do you refill the toilet paper? Who cleans the bathroom? Do you bring girls often and make them scream Spanish soap opera themes?"

Both guys laughed and blushed a little.  
"Ax murderers – no. Tuffnut is a student for computer game character design and animation and he works for a service hotline for technical support with computer issues. I am a car mechanic at Dagur's garage. I am twenty-two and Tuffnut turns twenty-one soon. When the milk is only still half full, you have to put it on the shopping list, fridge door on the right. I do the grocery shopping, otherwise, we'd only have trash in the fridge.  
Everyone buys their special wishes on their own.  
Empty milk boxes belong to the recycling can, not in the fridge. I know, some people like to have them as a friendly reminder, but I can't stand it.  
Tuffnut eats everything, no matter if your name is on it or not. Sometimes he opens something to try it and puts it back. But he usually replaces everything.  
And yes, we fart, burp, and scratch our balls. For god's sake, we're men. Pretend to be a guy too and join us farting, burping, and scratching our... butt."

Tuffnut chuckled and continued: "There's always toilet paper in the cabinet. In case we're down to two rolls you'd have to put it on Snotty's list.  
I clean the bathroom because...," Tuff hesitated and Snotlout elbowed him. "Just say it!"  
"Because I don't sit down to pee. But I don't bring anyone often to my mancave, so you won't hear Spanish soap opera themes from my room. Snotlout only sings himself, but he doesn't sound too bad. At least he doesn't scream. And he also doesn't bring screaming girls. Or boys. Actually, we're quite calm. Except when we clean the flat, then we listen to music. Sometimes we dance."

"Okay, when can I move in? Do you have a contract?" Astrid asked. She liked these guys, although both seemed to be kind of weird.  
Snotlout reached behind and picked a contract from the kitchen counter.  
"There's an account number where you have to transfer your share of the rent. I manage the deposit, you'd have to pay when you move in. Then you also get your keys.  
Sign here and move in whenever you want. Of course, I'll help you carry your bed up here."

"Wonderful!" Astrid signed the contract and shook both their hands and left with a wide smile.  
"I'll call you tomorrow to clarify when I will move in. But I guess it will be the day after tomorrow. Officially I have already moved in because most of my wardrobe is already here. Maybe you could put it in my room. Thanks, guys! On a happy cohabitation!"

When Astrid had left Snotlout and Tuffnut stared at the navy blue trolley with stickers on it.  
"I hope this girl won't cause trouble," Snotlout sighed.  
"Between us? I don't think so," Tuffnut shrugged and went to his room.  
"What are you gonna do?" Snotlout asked and Tuff bluntly replied: "Watching porn, jerking off."  
"Ah, enjoy yourself. Don't forget to close the door." Maybe Tuff was joking. Maybe not. Snotlout wouldn't scrutinize.

Two days later on a Saturday Astrid moved in with a squiggly metal bed, a small, white varnished desk of pinewood, a shelf, two boxes of books, one box of study material and the rest of her wardrobe.  
She also brought some plants and curtains, framed pictures, some odds and ends, and her laptop and printer.  
After few hours she covered the bed with sheets from her grandma, because she didn't have own bed linen, put the books on the shelf, and watered her plants.

"Thank you, guys! It feels as if I had always been there," Astrid beamed at Snotlout and Tuffnut, who stood at Astrid's door and nodded appreciatively.  
"You should hang up some pictures to cover the old nail holes. If you like we could re-plaster and repaint the wall someday," Snotlout suggested.  
Astrid cocked her head and thought about the offer.  
"I guess I'll leave it that way. It has a certain vintage charm. Thank you guys, I'll take a nap now. How do you do it with dinner? Do you always eat together?"

"Nah, not always, but mostly. Shall we wake you up for dinner?"  
Astrid nodded again gratefully.  
Then she shut the door and dropped onto her bed.  
Awkwardly Snotlout and Tuffnut moved away from Astrid's door when they heard her cry.

Astrid had been so busy finding a new place to stay as quick as possible that she hadn't been able to work through the break-up so far.  
Hiccup had ended their relationship after four years. The love was gone was what he said.  
He liked her still, but not as a girlfriend but like a sister.  
Astrid had lived with Hiccup and taken advantage of his – or rather his father's – wealth.  
Hiccup had brought her to college every morning before he drove to his college and she wouldn't have to pay any rent.  
Even when she had offered to pay her share Hiccup had refused.  
He was generous and for him it was a matter of course to let Astrid partake of his money.  
But Astrid had been modest all her life and wouldn't spend her boyfriend's money.

Now she was on her own and she knew that she could do it, but she missed _Hiccup_ dearly.

Later it knocked softly at her door.  
Drowsily she rose her head and wondered for a moment where she was.  
"Astrid, wanna take a bite with us?" Snotlout asked.  
"Oh, uh, sure. Wait, I'll have to refresh myself, then I'll be there. Can I use a towel of yours? I have to buy some first."

Snotlout prepared a stack of towels for Astrid, while she brought her cosmetics to the bathroom.  
"I haven't asked you if you're vegetarian or vegan or on a keto diet or whatever, so I cooked mac'n'cheese with carrots and leeks. Do you want a glass of wine to mark the occasion?"  
"That would be great. Red wine?" Astrid replied.  
"Your wish is my order," Snotlout smiled and knocked on Tuffnut's door on his way to the kitchen.

"Pack up your dick and come have some food, moron," Snotlout yelled.  
"Fuck off, Snotlout! I'm busy," Tuff chirped back, but Snotlout pushed the door open anyway.  
Astrid was braced to see her new flatmate being busy with his member and prepared herself to shut her eyes quickly, but he sat at his desk, feet on the table plate, drawing on a tablet. The room was darkened.

"Ugh, fine! Give me a minute!"  
Tuff put away his headset, switched off some blinking devices, and got up from his place.  
"Welcome to the family, Astrid. Don't mind our tone, we're just joking," Snotlout explained and placed a glass in front of Astrid.  
Tuff had a can of soda instead.

Snotlout and Astrid toasted with their glasses of wine and had a cultivated conversation about the advantages of balanced nutrition, while Tuff inhaled a huge amount of noodles with vegetables and his can of soda.  
When he had taken a second portion and dropped on his chair again Snotlout asked: "Are you gonna chew this time?"  
"Sorry hun, I was pretty hungry. And it's very tasty, thanks for cooking!" With these words, Tuff got up again, placed a kiss on Snotlout's forehead and took another can of soda from the fridge. He looked at the clock and groused: "Gotta go, must call my sister. She's been at the hospital all day to visit mom."  
Then Tuff grabbed his plate and his can and headed to his room again.  
"Yeah, love you too, dumbass," Snotlout scoffed, and Tuff answered: "Suck my dick, shorty," and made off.

There was so much what Astrid would like to have known, for example, what exactly that was between her cohabitants, but suddenly the wine and the effort of the day showed an effect and she felt leaden fatigue.  
She helped washing up the dishes before she went to her room.  
It was quite the opposite of what she had had so far.  
But it was okay. Nothing here reminded her of Hiccup.  
Astrid changed her clothes and put on a shortlegged pajama.  
Then she went to wash brush her teeth and get ready for the night.

Short after she snuggled into her pillows and her blanket, inhaling the scent of her grandma's detergent.  
She was dozing off as suddenly a loud noise tore her from the edge of sleep again.  
Then a yell sounded from Snotlout's room: "Shut the fucking door when you go pissing, dork!"  
"Sorry bro," Tuff yelled back.

Astrid hid her head under her pillow.  
Welcome to your new life, she thought.

When Astrid woke up, seemingly everyone came to life.  
She stuck her head out the door and listened, but no one came out of their rooms so far.  
So Astrid grabbed some fresh underwear and headed to the bathroom.  
She locked the door and after her morning routine she climbed into the tub, closed the shower curtain, and turned on the hot water.  
Astrid sighed in joy as the hot water spluttered onto her tense shoulders.  
She was about to lather her hair when she heard a dull impact on the door, then someone cursed.

After rinsing her hair she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body, a second around her hair.  
She got out of the tub and unlocked the door.  
Immediately the door cracked open and Tuffnut rushed in, grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her out.

"What the heck?" Astrid yelled flusteredly and got the door slammed in her face.  
Snotlout stood in his doorframe now and grinned apologetically. "Sorry, we should have mentioned that we never lock the bathroom door. It's the only bathroom we have."  
Astrid stared at Snotlout and shook her head briefly as the sense of what the short man had just said had settled in her mind.  
"So you're telling me that I must reckon with one of you coming in to pee or poop while I'm under the shower?"

"Pretty much. But as long as everyone stays on their side of the shower curtain I don't see any problem. Don't look at me this way, you'll get used to us, promised."  
"A-And if I don't stay on my side of the shower curtain?" Astrid stuttered.  
Snotlout shrugged. "I guess you'd then see something you have probably already seen before."  
Astrid couldn't help but gape at him. "What about privacy?"  
"Just stay behind the curtain," Snotlout grinned lopsidedly and blinked.

Astrid was about to head back to her room, but then she recalled forgetting her underwear in the bathroom.  
Determined she rushed in and found Tuffnut in front of the open mirror cabinet, brushing his teeth.

" _Excuse me_ ," Astrid snapped and grabbed her underwear.  
Tuffnut took a rubber thingy from the mirror cabinet and mumbled with his mouth full with toothpaste: "What in Loki's name is that?"  
Astrid took a deep breath and counted to ten. Then she smiled sweetly and answered: "That my dear, is a moon cup. It's supposed to catch the blood during my menstruation. Maybe you could leave it in its place. Thank you, _Tuffy_!"

Tuff paused, looked at the pink rubber cup, and put it very slowly where he had found it. "Uh, good to know."  
Astrid grimaced and left the room, wondering if she had made the right decision with moving into a flat with these guys.

When she was dressing it knocked on her door.  
Snotlout cleared his throat and asked: "What do you have for breakfast usually? Do you drink coffee, want eggs?"  
"Coffee is great, thank you," Astrid answered and smiled.  
Maybe it wasn't that bad at last.

When she came to the kitchen she found Snotlout at the table, bent over the newspaper, drinking coffee, and absent-mindedly chewing scrambled eggs. He looked sweaty.  
"What happened to you?" Astrid amusedly asked.  
"Was jogging. So, how do you like your breakfast on the weekends?"  
"Coffee, eggs, and toast. At least at the weekends I allow myself to have toast. Among the week I only eat low carb usually."

Snotlout passed Astrid a basket with toast and a mug. "Coffee is over there in the pot."  
Astrid smiled gratefully and enjoyed the silence for a moment.  
It was pleasant to sit and be quiet with Snotlout.  
She took her phone out of her pocket and pretended to be busy with it, but actually, she watched Snotlout.

He was short but very muscular. His nearly black hair was chin long and he used to brush it back with his hands now and then so that it looked a bit tousled.  
Bright blue eyes and a stubby nose gave him an almost cute look if there hadn't been his bushy and dark eyebrows. His chest and forearms were covered with trimmed black hair.

As he took a sip of his coffee he looked at her over the brim of his mug and their gazes met.  
Both smiled into their mugs and drank their coffees in silence until Tuffnut entered the room.

"Sup," he greeted Snotlout and fist-bumped him.  
"Sis," he nodded to Astrid and went to the fridge, took a jug of orange juice, and downed half of it.  
Then he went over to the microwave to heat a stack of pancakes.  
While he waited he gathered maple syrup and butter from the cupboard.  
He snatched a slice of toast and spread jam on it.

Astrid watched Tuffnut in silence.  
Until the microwave was done heating his pancakes Tuff had chewed his toast and emptied the jug of juice.  
"Don't you get a stomach ache?" Astrid wanted to know and Tuff shrugged.  
Then he took his plate with his pancakes and continued his food orgy.  
He drowned the pancakes in syrup and butter, gobbled all down within few minutes, and jumped up from his place again.

"I have a date with Ruffnut and Fishlegs. Later I'll visit mom. See ya at dinner," Tuff said, put his plate into the sink, and affectionately squeezed Snotlout's shoulder.  
"A.," he said before he went to his room.

"I don't want to offend anyone, but what the hell is wrong with him?" Astrid asked when Tuff had left the flat and she heard him rumbling down the stairs.  
"Wrong? Why?" Snotlout asked and folded the newspaper.  
"Doesn't he have time to sit down and do anything in quiet? Or to have a little patience to wait until it's his turn to go to the bathroom? He makes me nervous," Astrid explained and brushed her bangs behind her ears.

"Oh, I don't notice that anymore. It's ADHD, he doesn't annoy people on purpose. Well, that's a lie, he loves annoying people, but it's not his fault that he's fidgety and can't sit or listen. Except when he draws or works on the computer. Or plays video games. Sometimes movies are also okay, but the subject has to be intriguing for him. But he's hardly home, so I guess he won't get too much on your nerves."

"Oh. Okay. I guess I'll get used to that. What are your plans for today?"  
Snotlout shrugged and snorted: "It's Sunday. I'll probably lie on the couch all day playing video games and falling asleep occasionally. But before I'll go have a shower."

"Same, but without the shower. I'll hang out and furnish my room."  
"Too bad," he said with a flirty voice and blinked at Astrid, then he added "Yeah, cool. When you need help let me know."  
Snotlout and Astrid cleared the table and parted.

Astrid laid down on her bed, took the phone, and dialed her best friend's number.  
As her friend answered, Astrid, sighed relievedly.  
"Oh Minden, you don't believe what has happened this week..."

Letting her emotions out, Astrid cried and told of the break-up, her hasty move into the guys' den, her first night in a completely different surrounding, about the noises, and last but not least about Snotlout and Tuffnut.  
"The one is short, handsome and I think he tries to flirt with me. The other is tall, weird, and mostly ignores me or treats me as if I was their bro."  
All in one she could hardly believe what she had experienced within few days.  
But she was determined to make the best out of it.


	2. Differences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot Astrid has to get used to.  
> Privacy in the bathroom? Not so much.  
> Is her food untouched? Probably not.  
> Does someone use her expensive shampoo? Absolutely.  
> But after an argument, the flatmates seem to be closer than before.

Everything was different now.  
Astrid had to pay attention to things that previously had no meaning for her.  
Milk, bread, whatever was needed and had to be shared by three had constantly to be written on a list.  
The Haddocks' housekeepers had been in charge of such things and Astrid didn't have to care about grocery shopping.

Hiccup's apartment had had more than one bathroom, so she also didn't have to organize how much time she could spend showering, shaving, brushing her teeth.  
She had to think about taking fresh clothes to the bathroom when she didn't want to cross the corridor only wrapped into a towel after showering.  
Tuffnut didn't seem to be a problem there, but Snotlout's sometimes hungry glances could feel quite offensive. Luckily, his dirty jokes were always aimed at Tuffnut, but he couldn't keep some of his double entendres towards her to himself either.

Sometimes, when Astrid was about to leave her room in the morning, she could hear another door being opened and one of the guys shuffled over to the bathroom – morning glory leading ahead.  
Astrid then hid behind her door and squeezed her eyes shut – some boxers revealed more than they covered.

She had to learn when Tuffnut was actually working and not just gaming so that she wouldn't disturb him.  
And in case she wanted to use the living room with her friends she had to ask before.  
All that didn't bother Astrid much.  
Well, she always listened carefully, if someone was entering the bathroom while she was in the bathtub or showering (it only happened once so far, and she was glad that her visitor hadn't had to do a bigger business).

But what she could get _really_ mad about was, that her stuff disappeared mysteriously.  
Sometimes her yogurt was gone and in all cases, she could tell _where_ it had gone, when she found the empty cup and the used spoon together with spilled remains of her dairy product on the table.

When Tuffnut was in charge of doing the laundry, she often had to search for her underwear. Once she found it in the fridge. No one could explain, how it had gotten there.  
One day she found her favourite mug broken on the kitchen table, a yellow post-it with a crying face stuck on it.  
The other day she found a replacement for her mug, an utterly ugly pot with a puppy and a kitten on a meadow and lettering saying "best friends".  
Astrid didn't know if she should scream or laugh, but when she saw the post-it with a heart and "sorry" on it, she couldn't help but smile.

What Astrid couldn't forgive was that her expensive shampoo for greasy hair was regularly almost empty, although she had just bought a new bottle and hardly used any of it.

"Tuffnut," Astrid yelled and cracked his door open.  
Startled he paused his game, headset, camera and microphone still on.  
"Hey, T, is that your girlfriend?"  
"Wow, that's an _actual_ girl!"  
"She's hot, would she do a session with us?"  
"Shut up there," Tuff groaned and held his middle finger into the camera.  
Then he turned to Astrid, looking at her with a flustered expression. "What's wrong, A?" he asked.

Astrid took a deep breath, then she hissed through clenched teeth: "I know that you eat my yogurt. You drink my juice. You eat my sweets. I can live with that. But if you go on using my shampoo, I'll drag you by the balls to the store and make you buy me a new bottle, bare-ass naked, savvy?"

Tuffnut tried to get what Astrid said, but his focus was on three zits on Astrid's chin which hadn't been there before, and one of his gaming pals made a whipping noise.  
"Fuck you," he grumbled into the headset and Astrid asked: "What was that?"  
"Not you, _him_!" Tuffnut pointed at a small square on his monitor, showing a guy with a headset, who made obscene gestures to his camera.  
Tuff shut down the monitor and Astrid could feel the mood change abruptly.  
If this dork had the audacity to become annoyed at her, she could get more annoying as well.

"Got it?" she asked and pushed her hands to her hips.  
"Yeah T, got it?" a voice sounded from the headset in a mocking tone.  
Tuff tore the headset from his ears and threw it on the desk, shoving Astrid aside and yelling a "Fuck it all," before he left the flat and slammed the door behind him.

Snotlout came and furrowed his brows.  
"What's the matter over here?"  
He gazed at Astrid, who stood frozen in shock in the darkened room and didn't know what to do.  
Voices seeped out of the headset and Snotlout switched the monitor on.

"Hey Snotty," the guy from the miniature screen greeted him.  
"Hey nerds," Snotlout greeted them back, also the ones he couldn't see.  
"You don't mind me saving the game, do you? T is out of order," Snotlout sighed and saved the game.  
"Is he having his tantrums?" one of the co-players wanted to know.  
"Apparently. Bye guys!"

"Okay, what was that?" Astrid asked and crossed her arms.  
"Come on, don't touch anything and have a coffee with me," Snotlout said and softly laid his hand onto her back.  
Astrid felt the warmth through her t-shirt and the tension lessened.

Only a little time later she sat with Snotlout on the couch, sipping her hot coffee.  
"I told you about the ADHD, didn't I?" Snotlout mumbled and blew his drink.  
Astrid nodded.  
"Well, his brain can't filter stimuli. I don't know what you wanted, but in combination with what already was on his mind, he most likely became overwhelmed and flooded and escaped from that situation.  
Sometimes he's anxious, sometimes aggressive, but he calms down when he goes skateboarding. Smoking pot also makes him calmer.  
Do you want to go for a walk? I know where he has gone to. You could watch that moron, it's astonishing that he is capable of such things, but can't wash up dishes without breaking something."  
Astrid agreed. She thought that she should apologize but also tell Tuff to leave her shampoo be, just in another way.

"So, you care for his survival?" Astrid asked as she walked next to Snotlout.  
"To call it like that, yep. I care for most tasks that would overwhelm him or which are too important as though he may forget about them. Invoices, appointments, medication, even the shopping.  
He hates my lists and schedules, but they give him structure."

"And where do you know him?" Astrid asked, hoping to not appear too nosy.  
"From school. So practically since forever. Look, there he is."  
Snotlout led Astrid to a playground that was equipped with a halfpipe and some obstacles.  
They sat down on the stone tribune and watched Tuff and several other young people doing tricks with their skateboards or rollerskates.

"He's really good. What's _your_ secret superpower?"  
Snotlout leaned back and crossed his legs. "You mean besides my _remarkably_ good-looking face and my biceps? Probably my cooking. Or my ability to ignore my friends' flaws. Oh, don't forget about my inimitable courtesy. I can also manage a three-person household without going nuts. I can sew. And I can sing. Some girls have also announced I was incomparably good in bed."  
He winked at Astrid, but she snorted and punched his arm.

"I got it. Your superpower is that you're kind of our mom."  
"Great Astrid, you ruined the moment. We were having a moment, haven't you realized?" Snotlout moaned and Astrid couldn't tell if he sounded genuinely hurt or if he was teasing her.  
"Sorry bro, just let me know when we're having a moment the next time so that I can prepare for the really big feelings," she answered and laughed, hoping that this had been the right answer.

At that moment Astrid and Snotlout saw Tuffnut and another skater crash into each other. Both landed hard on the ground, but they got back on their feet quickly and helped each other stand.  
"Oh shit, Tuff are you hurt?" Astrid yelled.  
Tuff turned around, only now noticing that Snotlout and Astrid had been there and he smiled brightly.  
Astrid noticed that Tuff limped and his jeans were torn on his knee.  
"You're bleeding," Astrid gasped and looked at Tuff in concern.  
"I've had worse. What are you doing here?" he said, addressing Snotlout.  
"Came looking if you're doin' okay. Nice stunt," Snotlout nodded and got up.  
"Great," Astrid thought, "he ignores me. Probably he's still mad at me because I yelled at him."

"Uh guys, I forgot my jacket and the sun's gone, it's a little chilly, so I'd better go home," Astrid muttered, got up and knocked the dust from her shorts.  
She didn't like being treated like air and the situation was weird enough, so she decided to head home. Her excuse wasn't even an actual lie.  
As Astrid turned to go Tuff held her back. "Wait," he said and untied the sleeves of the hoodie he had worn around his waist.  
With a quick move, he pulled it over Astrid's head.

"Oh, uh, thank you," Astrid replied and wasn't exactly sure _how_ grateful she should actually be - the hoodie was riddled, an indefinable lettering and a horrific zombie face adorned the front, and worst of all: it smelled terribly sweaty.

"Oh, such honor! That's Tuff's favourite hoodie," Snotlout whispered in Astrid's ear when Tuff was skating several yards in front of them.  
"Maybe he should consider washing it sometimes," Astrid wrinkled her nose.  
Snotlout rolled his eyes.  
"Maybe you should show some appreciation sometimes. He really tries to meet our standards."

"I'm sorry. I'm just used to something else. It's all new and I feel quite vulnerable," Astrid stammered and blushed. She hated feeling weak and she also didn't like when she was at fault.  
Actually, she really liked her flatmates and didn't want to wrong them.  
"You know, we can't offer luxury, but we can offer our friendship. You don't have to feel lonely. Just come crawling out of your hole and spend time with us."

How could Astrid tell Snotlout that his and Tuff's incoherent talks drove her crazy? She had no time for silly movies and senseless games, she had to put her nose into her books and learn if she wanted to complete her studies in the standard period of study.  
She was in her last year now and wanted to graduate with exceptional grades.  
The break-up had been distracting enough and she still suffered from it a lot.  
But Astrid wanted to be a lawyer, a good lawyer and she wanted to be successful, so she worked hard, pushed herself to her limits and beyond.  
Under no circumstances she could imagine living the way she lived now in her further future.

After high school, she had traveled for a year and had got to know Hiccup at the airport.  
For one year they had spent their time together in New Zealand on their trip and travel journey.  
When they came back they had been a couple for already several months and Astrid moved into Hiccup's apartment.

Astrid didn't need much luxury or property, she didn't care for richness, but she liked having enough savings so that she could always do what she pleased, even take a year off and go on a trip again.  
She liked the safety of having reserves and the advantage of independence.

But she also liked social contact and she had to admit that she had withdrawn from nearly everyone during the last few weeks.  
Minden was too busy, Heather was too far away and Hiccup... he had kept his friends, who never had been her friends anyway.

When they got home a skinny blond girl was sitting on the stairs in front of the door.  
Her feet were placed on a skateboard and the first Astrid noticed were her band-aids-covered legs.  
She was typing on her mobile phone, huge headphones on her ears.  
Obviously, she was listening to music.  
"There you are," she shouted and jumped up when she saw Snotlout and Tuffnut approach.

Tuff gestured to her headphones and she grinned apologetically.  
"You don't have to scream just because you can't hear us, moron," Tuff laughed and fist-bumped the girl.  
Astrid saw a certain resemblance between them.  
"Is that your sister?" she asked.  
"It is. Ruffnut, that's Astrid, our new fellow lodger!"

Astrid reached out to shake Ruffnut's hand, but Ruffnut just slapped Astrid's palm instead – maybe that was kind of a low-five?  
Ruffnut eyed the new flatmate and stared at the hoodie.  
"So, she's already wearing your favourite hoodie? Is she worthy? Does she know the movie at all?" Ruffnut shot a volley of questions at Tuffnut, who just opened the door and ignored his sister.

Astrid couldn't take her eyes off Ruffnut – her hair was so long that it reached over her butt, a flowing mane of golden strands. Her wiry legs were in a pair of loose hot pants and she was the same height as her brother; 5'12".  
"What are you looking at?" Ruffnut asked when she noticed Astrid's look.  
"Uh, your hair. It's so long," Astrid stuttered and hurried to get out of the hoodie as soon as they had arrived on the top floor.  
She handed it back to Tuffnut and mumbled a thank you before she disappeared into her room.

This day was downright strange.  
She had had an argument with Tuffnut.  
Snotlout had called her out because of her attitude.  
Tuffnut's sister was spreading annoying but also hostile vibes.  
Angrily Astrid sat down at her desk and flipped a book open. Civics.  
That was certainly more important than getting to know Tuffnut's weird sister.  
Irritated Astrid heard them laugh in the kitchen.  
Fine, they should have fun with their immature jokes and their unpredictable behaviour.

No, Astrid couldn't lie to herself, she was jealous because these three, who knew each other like forever were real friends on the same wavelength, and Astrid felt excluded.  
She knew that she excluded herself and that she needed someone to talk to, otherwise the bitterness would eat her alive.

Usually, she would have refreshed herself after being honored with Tuffnut's hoodie, but none of _them_ would do that just because they had worn a strange piece of clothing for twenty minutes.  
Astrid took a deep breath and pushed her chair back.  
She could carry a desk and a heavy plant, she could kick asses and think logically, but this social thing scared her.

With wobbly knees, she opened her door and listened. They seemed to be in the kitchen.  
And when Astrid came closer she could see Ruffnut stand on the table, her t-shirt pulled up so that Snotlout and Tuffnut could count the bruises on her back and hips.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Astrid asked and her eyes widened when Ruffnut revealed a bruise in bright violets and greens on her upper thigh.  
"Roller Derby," Ruffnut answered and wiggled her brows.  
"Yeah, she's the fastest jammer ever!" Tuff enthused and looked for a video on his phone.  
Luckily Astrid could watch the video and wouldn't have to ask what Roller Derby was – she had seriously no clue.

Ruffnut jumped off the table and rummaged the fridge for something to drink. Her choice was soda – Astrid was _not_ surprised.

Tuffnut gave Astrid his phone (broken display, skulls on the cover, and greasy fingerprints everywhere) and looked over her shoulder.  
She felt his breath on her neck and could smell her shampoo on his hair – ironically it now made her smile.  
Tuff reached around Astrid and pointed at a very quick figure on roller skates.  
"That's Ruffnut," he proudly stated.

Astrid turned her head and looked at Tuffnut and for the first time, she saw something else in him than just a goofy flatmate with hardly any amount of common sense.  
She saw a young man with a family spirit, who could genuinely be proud of his sister's achievements.

"And look, that's my mom. She could still walk then."  
Tuffnut took his phone again and backed away.  
"How is mom doin', by the way?" he asked his sister.  
"According to circumstances? Pretty good. She didn't have to be ventilated today."  
Tuff sat down at the table and sighed deeply before he buried his face in his hands.

Astrid dared to ask carefully: "Is your mom going to be better any time soon?"  
"Unlikely. She has lung cancer and she dies. But she dies now for half a year and she seems to be too stubborn to accept it. So she goes on and on and we try to be there for her," Tuffnut explained.

Astrid felt an inner struggle to show affection toward Tuffnut, but although she felt strangely confused she put her hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it.  
She didn't know what to say and probably no words would be appropriate.  
But Tuff relaxed under Astrid's touch and slumped against the backrest of his chair.

Before this situation could become awkward Astrid turned to Snotlout.  
"What are we gonna cook tonight? You wanted to teach me how to cook. So why not start today?"  
Snotlout shot Astrid a grin and answered: "Salmon, baked potatoes and cucumber salad. Ruffnut, will you stay for dinner?"

"Nah, thanks. Fishy is cooking something with cream and cheese and a lot of fat. That's rather my taste."  
"Lucky you," Tuff mumbled under his breath and Snotlout slapped the back of his head.  
"You can be glad that I care for your food, asshole. You would probably eat deep-frozen pizza every day if you were on your own."  
"Mmmm, doesn't sound too bad," Tuff scoffed and Snotlout punched his arm.  
"Astrid and I will prepare our dinner. You can eat it or leave it."

Ruffnut cackled and fist-bumped Tuff again as she left.  
"Don't you ever hug?" Astrid wanted to know and Tuff shrugged.  
"What for?"  
Now Astrid shrugged. It wasn't _her_ sister, so she wouldn't judge.

Preparing food with Snotlout was fun and educational.  
Whatever Astrid wanted to know, Snotlout answered her questions patiently and explained at what time she had to do what.

When the food was prepared and in the oven, Tuffnut came back to the kitchen.  
"Do you think that there's something stuck in the wound?" he asked and sat down on the table, his injured leg stretched over the table plate.  
"Let me have a look," Astrid mumbled and ignored her anger about him or his sister, that they stood, sat, or laid _on_ the table, instead of cultivated sitting _at_ it for having their meals.

"Do you have some alcohol and gauze? And no, I don't mean your Jacky, but medical alcohol. And forceps. As far as I can see there are little stones in your wound. Could also be tiny cullets."  
Snotlout went to the bathroom and came back with what Astrid had requested.  
Astrid thought for a moment, then she headed to her room and fetched her glasses. Should these dorks make fun of her, she wouldn't mind.  
Back in the kitchen, she prepared warm water and a cloth to rinse Tuff's wound first.

She was aware that the men looked at her with amusement.  
"So, Doctor Hofferson, does this leg have to be amputated?" Snotlout snorted and also Tuffnut couldn't suppress a giggle.  
"Haha, very mature. Maybe you would rather have this thing being poked into your wound while I can't see properly?" Astrid scoffed and Tuff flinched, laughing.

"Mercy," he squeaked and playfully tried to crawl away from her.

"You! Stay," Astrid yelled and wanted to hold him back, also laughing.  
Astrid was held back by Snotlout, who had wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back.  
"Run, Tuff," he shouted.  
Unfortunately, Astrid had reached out to get grip on something at the same time she had been drawn away from Tuff - which randomly happened to be his underwear. So Astrid pulled his boxers down to his thighs. Luckily, Tuff still was laying on his stomach, presenting his rear.

"Unfair! How am I supposed to get away when I'm naked? The old people brigade would call the cops and I'd be caught and imprisoned even before I get to cross the road," Tuff crowed and pulled his boxers back up.  
"Your honor, I haven't seen these balls ever before, I swear," Snotlout imitated an old woman's voice and guffawed.  
He let go of Astrid, whose cheeks were blushed into a ruby red.  
"I'm so sorry," she cried and had her hands clasped to her eyes, but Tuffnut and Snotlout laughed until they could hardly breathe.

"Doctor Hofferson, I didn't know you were doing a circumcision as well, let me get you a scalpel," Snotlout roared and opened a drawer to get the poultry shears.  
"Uh, I have a say in that too, don't I?" Tuff blinked and sat up.  
"Don't you look so shocked! Astrid surely will give you a kissy-kissy on your boo-boo when she's done," Snotlout wiped his eyes and Astrid gathered herself.

"Dinner is about to be ready, let's get your wound clean so we can eat," she wheezed and started to rinse Tuff's wound.  
He was very brave until Astrid applied the alcohol.  
"Damn, that hurts more than the crash itself," Tuff hissed and tried to not yank his leg away.  
Calmingly Astrid stroked Tuff's leg without noticing it until she was done with his treatment.  
"Okay, time to eat now. Get off the table," Astrid said and grinned.

The salmon was delicious, but a little too dry.  
Admittedly, most of the work had been done by Snotlout, but Astrid was proud of the results anyway.  
Also, Tuffnut chewed his meal and didn't run around as usual.  
Astrid thought about what Snotlout had said earlier: he was trying to meet her standards.  
And maybe she should meet them in the middle.

Later that night, when Tuffnut and Snotlout had gathered on the couch to watch a movie, Astrid silently tiptoed to the living room.  
Honestly, she hadn't been prepared for this sight: Tuffnut and Snotlout were comfortably leaning against each other, Tuff had his arm looped around Snotlout's shoulders.

Astrid couldn't tell if she perceived homoromantic vibes or if she saw weird best friends who enjoyed the presence of the other.  
"What are you watching?" she asked.  
"Monty Python's Life of Brian. Sit down, join," Snotlout cheered.  
Astrid sat down and crouched on the other end of the couch, grabbing a blanket to wrap it around her.

"There you go. Popcorn?"  
Astrid smiled but shook her head. It was nice to be among people.  
Suddenly she felt Tuffnut's hand grabbing hers.  
She rose her head and tried to find out what he was up to, but he didn't look at her, had his view glued to the screen.  
While their fingers intertwined Astrid slid a little closer so that Tuff wouldn't have to stretch his arm so much.  
That was it. He didn't do anything, only held her hand.  
Astrid enjoyed the warmth which spread from the touch and slowly warmed her heart too.

When a new day was dawning Astrid woke up. She was covered with the blanket from yesterday.  
Propped up on her forearms, she saw Snotlout waking up too.  
He yawned and stretched his back.  
The place in the middle was empty.  
"Where's Tuffnut?" Astrid asked, but then she heard the toilet flushing, the steps of bare feet, and his door being shut.  
"What time is it?" she wanted to know.  
Snotlout looked at his phone and replied: "4.42 am."  
"Ugh, too early to get up. Wake me at 7.00 am." Astrid pulled the blanket up to her chin and snuggled into the cushion.

Snotlout nodded and did the same. Their feet were touching in the middle.  
Astrid didn't bother.  
It actually felt kind of nice to have any kind of physical contact.  
She couldn't say why, but she felt safe with her boys.  
Eventually, she fell asleep again.


	3. Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid lives for about three months with Tuffnut and Snotlout and only realizes that she hardly knows her flatmates.  
> Maybe it's time to show some interest in her fellow lodgers, who aren't _that_ bad people after all.  
> Or are they...?

Astrid woke up to the sound of music, or what Tuffnut _called_ music – to Astrid it was rumpus!  
Angrily she tore her blanket over her head and tried to shield her ears from the noise.  
But it was no use, she was awake now. After a look on her alarm clock, she jumped out of her bed, hectically gathering her clothes.

"Oh fuck, I overslept," she cursed, and to top it all, she felt her uterus cramp and a rivulet of blood soaked her panties.  
At least the music was turned off again.

After her morning routine, Astrid stomped to the kitchen, where she found Tuffnut pouring cereals into a bowl and his mouth.  
Then he poured the milk over the cereals and drank from the milk box.  
"Experimenting on time-saving?" Astrid asked and felt like urging him to sit down and eat like a grown-up person.

But instead, she groaned and prepared a protein smoothie.  
Annoyed she noticed that her protein powder was all out now.  
When she had decanted it into her to-go-mug she turned to go, knowing that she could hardly make it on time, even if she hurried.  
"Whoa, your pimples look really nasty," Tuffnut blurted out before he could help it.

Astrid groused and glared hatefully at Tuff, who at least had the decency to flinch and look regretful.  
Great, now her flatmate, who almost always smelled like a wet scruffy dog was finding faults with her.  
He should rather care for his own look.  
But without using her shampoo, for god's sake!

After college, Astrid would have to give classes at the gym, and she already felt exhausted, although she hadn't even left the house.  
Astrid went to the front door and put on her shoes, as she heard Tuff slurp from the bowl.  
"God, use a spoon like a normal human, you retarded muttonhead," she yelled and took her backpack.

Tuff came from the kitchen, wiping his mouth.  
He put on his shoes too and mumbled: "Pull the stick out of your ass, A. I don't hurt anyone, do I?"  
Astrid just killed him with her eyes and left, slamming the door in his face.  
"You forgot your smoothie," Tuff shouted and tossed the mug to Astrid.  
She caught the mug, but unfortunately, the lid hadn't been screwed on tightly and a fountain of sticky liquid gushed over the stairs.

"Uh oh," Tuff said and stared at Astrid with panic in his eyes.  
Astrid dropped on the stairs and cried – this day couldn't get any worse.  
A miracle that her blouse had been spared!  
Tuffnut had quickly fetched a bucket, water, and a cloth and started to mop up the smoothie.

Astrid didn't care about him, she just felt sorry for herself, until she was pulled into a hug.  
"The damage is made good. Calm down, A. I'm sorry."  
"I-I... I have no breakfast now," Astrid sniffed and leaned against Tuff's chest.  
He pulled her up and led her to the kitchen.

"We'll make you a new one. No need to cry," Tuff stated and took the shaker from the sink.  
"There's no powder left," Astrid sobbed.  
Tuff thought for a moment, then he took a package of curd from the fridge, put two spoons of it into the shaker, and filled it up with sugar-free orange soda.  
Astrid followed him with her eyes, unbelieving.

Tuff tried his experiment and nodded. "Acceptable," he said and reached Astrid the shaker.  
Astrid tried and was surprised, that it actually didn't taste that bad.  
"C'mon, I give you a free ride on my noble steed," Tuff grinned and dragged Astrid with him.

What Tuff meant was that Astrid would sit on the crossbar of his BMX bike while he rushed way too fast through alleys and streets Astrid didn't even know were shortcuts.

Astrid's hair now looked as if she had been to the wind channel, but at least she was only fifteen minutes late.  
Tuff strode to another building after locking his bike.  
"Thanks, Tuff," Astrid yelled after him.  
"Don't mention it, bro," Tuff replied and Astrid wondered if he would have made it in time if he hadn't created another "smoothie" and taken her with him.   
Without any doubt, he would have been still faster without Astrid's additional weight.

When Astrid finally came home she felt groggy and beyond tired.  
Her stomach ached and she was angry with the whole world.  
There were voices in the living room and she assumed that Snotlout and Tuffnut were watching TV.  
Oh how badly she needed a hot shower now!

She switched the light on in her room and found a bar of her favourite chocolate on her pillow, one of Tuffnut's yellow post-its attached to it.  
"I prepared a bath for you. Enjoy yourself," it said and Astrid smiled touched.  
Astrid peeked into the bathroom and a morbid look presented itself to her.

Tuff had brought his candleholder in the shape of a skull in which already a candle was flickering.  
His fluffiest towel – Batman - was draped upon the washbasin.  
On the brim of the tub stood a new bottle of her shampoo and a bath essence from the same product line.

Astrid felt tears of emotion sting in her eyes and she went to the living room to thank Tuff for his engagement.  
She found him alone, the telephone at his ear, pacing through the room. Apparently, he was talking to his sister.  
One of his habits was to consume way too much sugar when he felt stressed – and now he seemed to feel very stressed, according to the six empty soda cans on the table and the uncountable chocolate bar wrappers under the table.

When he saw Astrid leaning in the door frame he mumbled into the phone: "We'll talk tomorrow, can't focus right now. Let's meet after college at your place."  
Then he ended the talk.  
"Bad news?" Astrid wanted to know.  
"My mom has made her will. The notary said she had large debts. Ruff and I can't cover that, we'd have to pay back enough with our student loans after we're finished with studying."

Tuff sighed and dropped to the couch.  
"How was your smoothie?" he asked with a look on the soda cans.  
"Terrible. But I appreciate your effort," Astrid smiled, then she added: "I wanted to thank you for all you did today. Sorry that I've been such a mean bitch."

Tuff waved off and rose his brows. "I'm just glad that I don't have to struggle with surfing the crimson tide once a month."  
"Where did you know?" Astrid asked sheepishly.  
"Well, you usually get mad at me, but today you cried. That was suspicious. Your skin looks bad, and I don't say that because I wanna hurt you, it's a simple fact. You're moody and impatient, uh, more impatient than usual. And your rubber thing was missing in the mirror cabinet. Did you know that it looks like a hat for cocks?"

"Please don't tell me that you have tried it," Astrid moaned and massaged her temples.  
Tuff snorted: "No, I know where it had already been. It would be like we were having kind of sex or something, wouldn't it?"  
"Believe me, that won't happen!" Astrid laughed and gently shoved Tuff by his arm.

He shot Astrid his remarkable crooked smile and said: "And as you know, I also have a sister. Some things don't stay secrets to guys when they're living with women."  
"Are you older, or is Ruff the older one? I can't tell, you both look so young," Astrid mentioned as she undid her braid and shook her hair.

"She's older. Seven minutes. We're twins," Tuff replied and proudly puffed his chest as if it was his merit.  
Astrid reacted with a quiet laugh and asked then, pointing at the empty soda cans: "Do you want to use the bathroom before I jump into the floods?"  
"Nah, the bath chamber is all yours."

Astrid was looking forward to sinking into the heat of a bath and also felt happy about the flickering light of the candle which Tuff had brought.  
The gesture was sweet and Snotlout was right: Tuffnut really tried to meet their standards.  
A little concerned Astrid noticed that Snotlout and Tuffnut still were strangers to her, although they lived together for about three months now.  
Okay, Tuff could apparently read her like an open book, but the male twin was a mystery to her.  
All he did was unpredictable, except for some habits.

Astrid used the time on her own to apply a face mask, to shave her unwanted body hair, and just to enjoy the silence.  
When the water started getting cold Astrid washed her hair and climbed out of the tub.  
Then she dried her hair and brushed her teeth.  
Although she still had light cramps she felt much better and relaxed now.  
She unexpectedly had been in the bathroom for one and a half hours and no one had disturbed her.

As she opened the door, Tuff shot out of his room, muttering: "Thank goodness, you're finally out! I really have to take a leak now!"  
Amusedly Astrid shook her head and tiredly dropped to her bed.  
Maybe she should place the headboard of her bed on the other side of the room – it was a huge disadvantage to have her head so close to the toilet.  
But after all, she appreciated that Tuff had made the sacrifice of giving her time on her own – although he had apparently been bursting.

In the mid of the night, Astrid woke up due to a rummage in the corridor.  
She opened her door and found the corridor dark, only a stripe of light entering through the front door.  
In the spare light, she could make out Snotlout's broad form lying on the floor, whimpering in pain.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you hurt?" Astrid hissed suppressed.  
"Ashtrid, angel! J-juss lemme sh-tay here, I'll get along. But could y-you shshut da door? I don't want da neighbors to think I was drunk, waking up my marv-marvelous friends. We are friends, aren't we, Asstrid? We're friends and you think no other-wise, do you?"

Astrid shut the door and switched the light on.  
Snotlout sat on the floor, his knees scraped from the fall to the floor.  
"The doormat is guilty. Has made me trip and fall. All was fine so far, I even got up the stairs without problems. But the doormat is a sneaky asshole, I knew it didn't like me."

Yawning, Tuff opened his door and looked down to Snotlout.  
"How's the Jorgenson family reunion been?" he asked and scratched himself in his boxers.  
Astrid looked anywhere else, she still felt uncomfortable when her flatmates unabashedly touched their genitals when she was around.

"Guess! The great Corey had been there and dad was amazed by every single word he said, even when it was a total BS."  
"Help me get him to the couch," Tuff sighed and pulled Snotlout up.  
Together Astrid and Tuff dragged the drunk man to the couch and cared that he wouldn't stumble and fall again.  
Tuff furrowed his brows and asked: "You get along? I have to work tomorrow, and I should at least be awake enough to be capable of answering my customers' questions. I'd hop into my crib again."  
"Yep, for sure. Rest in peace, Tuffboy," Snotlout giggled and snuggled into the back cushions.

Astrid brought a glass of water, wrapped Snotlout into her blanket (it now was hers – usually no one except her used it anyway), and sat down next to him.  
"Who is Corey?" she asked and gently took Snotlout's hand.  
"My awesome big brother. I mean, he's really big, tall, good-looking. A real estate agent with piles of stinking money and a wife even more beautiful than you are. Sorry, Astrid, I have to say that. You are hot and I'd love to fuck you once in a while, I think you could use that too-"  
"Yeah, stay with the subject, Snotty," Astrid cut him off and slightly slid away from him.

"Okay, sorry. It's just, you're so perfect. You'd probably like my brother too. Everyone likes my brother. And I am the disappointment of the family. I haven't been to college. I repair and pimp oldtimers and muscle cars. I like my job! I like my boss! Actually, I am content with my life until my dad reminds me that I haven't made it. That I'll never make it. Instead of living with a beautiful wife in my expensive loft, I live with my chaotic friend in a flat-sharing community and we argue about stuff like flushing turds!"

"But if these family meetings don't do you good, why do you attend them anyway? Keep away from what makes you feel bad," Astrid said and felt pity for Snotlout.  
"You don't know my dad. He's been a big shot in the army, a deserved veteran. When he tells you to jump you ask how high."  
Snotlout sobbed and wiped his eyes. Astrid put her hand on his shoulder and felt a shaky breath escaping him.  
"It's not my fault that I am a short stud, you know? And it's also not my fault that I haven't been a big cheese at school, I haven't asked for dyslexia and hair all over my body since I've been fifteen. I haven't asked to be born at all. I can't do anything about the fact that dad couldn't take up with me and I always have felt more drawn to my mom."

"What about your mom then? Is she okay with your dad treating you like that?" Astrid asked and her sense for justice kicked in.  
As a lawyer, she had the right plea for Snotlout's dad in mind.

"My mom died when I was sixteen. That was exactly the age I stopped growing, weird, huh? My dad became even meaner then because my mom couldn't protect me anymore. When I was eighteen I was looking for a job and started jobbing at Dagur's garage. He has a heart for failed personalities. After work, I worked out with Eret, a co-worker. And when the twins graduated they couldn't leave home fast enough as well.  
One of my flatmates had just moved out and Tuffnut moved in immediately. Ruffnut went with Fishlegs."

Astrid's mind was spinning due to the flood of information.  
She wouldn't scrutinize anything of that for now.  
"Well, we should try to get some sleep now. I have to go to college tomorrow and you... maybe you have to go to work. Lay down, close cour eyes, and try to get some rest."  
"Thank you, Astrid, my angel. If Tuff and I hadn't an agreement to keep our hands off our flatmates I'd ask you out. You're such an awesome woman," Snotlout purred, stretched out on the couch, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the cushion.

An agreement to keep their hands off their flatmates? Had it been a thing before that one of them had fallen for a flatmate? Who had it been? As far as Astrid could assess, Tuffnut was asexual and Snotlout somewhat in between hetero and bi.   
Astrid covered Snotlout with her blanket, switched the light off, and went to bed.

The next morning Astrid felt worn but certainly not as bad as Snotlout would feel when he woke up.  
She had to be at college at nine o'clock and at half-past eight she was ready to go, but then she heard Snotlout's phone buzz on the table, sounds switched off.  
It was Dagur. The picture on the screen showed a man with a red mohawk, a red beard, and a sharp nose. A tattoo across his left eye let him look kind of not exactly confidence-inspiring.

Astrid answered the phone and heard a mocking voice seep through the speaker: "Where are you, lazy leek? We have a 69er Shelby GT 500 Mustang on the lift!"  
"Hey, this is Astrid. I'm afraid Snotlout won't come to work today," she said and crossed her fingers that the one who also was known as Dagur the deranged wouldn't react the way she expected him to.  
He did not, but empathetically asked: "Oh, has the family meeting gone that bad?"  
"Apparently. He's quite out of order, but I guess tomorrow he'll be back again."  
Dagur seemed to nod because for a moment it was quiet in the line.  
"Tell him that I won't take a day off from him, but the next time he could call in sick at least. Greets." Then there was silence as Dagur had ended the call.

Before Astrid left she refilled Snotlout's glass with water and put an aspirin next to it on the table.  
She knew that there was a lot to catch up with when she came back.  
A long talk would maybe help Snotlout to work through his family trauma.  
Astrid didn't have to give classes that night either.

When Astrid came back from college she brought a big paper bag with her, filled with vegetables and fruits.  
"What the heck? Are you gonna feed a company of bunnies?" Tuffnut wanted to know, as he peeked into the bag.  
"That's for Snotlout's detox, and I'll also prepare dinner today," she stated and put her hands onto her hips.

"Thanks, Astrid, I'm already sick...," Snotlout scoffed and earned a punch on the arm.  
Then she turned to Tuffnut and looked at him challenging.  
"Any objections?"  
"Sorry, are you growing two other heads? I'm sure there had been simple pimples before, but now? I don't know to which head I should talk, the lower one looks very upset to me. The upper one looks desperate. Astrid, I'm afraid they'll grow personalities and try to fight you to take over your body."

Astrid slapped the back of Tuffnut's head and elicited a malicious cackle from him.  
"Get your butt off the table and help me chop the vegetables. I'll fry you guys a steak."  
"That's nice, Astrid. But I'm vegetarian," Tuff replied.  
"Are you kidding me? You ate fish!"  
"Yeah, I eat fish, but that's it. I don't eat lamb, pork, beef, poultry, deer... just fish."  
"Why haven't I noticed before?" Astrid sighed and dropped onto a chair next to Snotlout.

"Maybe because you don't pay much attention to the world around you. You're very busy studying and that's okay, you want to be the best at what you do. I guess you make a lot of assumptions and don't know if they're correct at last. As a lawyer, you should be more attentive."  
Tuffnut's words hurt her, but she also knew that he was right.  
Her natural reflex was to snap at Tuff, but she swallowed hard and forced herself to say something different: "Thanks for your honest words, Tuff. You're absolutely right."

"Ya welcome, A," he replied and slid off the table, fetching a soda can from the fridge.  
"I'd like to have a steak," Snotlout announced, but Astrid seemed to haven't heard him.  
"What do you want instead? Only a salad could have too little nutritional value," Astrid muttered and tweaked Tuff's skinny belly.  
"I'll order a pizza. Haven't had pizza for ages," Tuff said, dodging Astrid's attempts to pinch him again.  
"You had pizza on Monday. Today's Thursday! You call that ages?"

"Astrid, shall I fry the steaks and you chop the vegetables?" Snotlout tried again, but Astrid didn't listen.  
"And woe betide you deny eating your salad," she crowed and jumped to Tuff's back, bringing both of them to fall.  
"I surrender," Tuff giggled and flipped onto his back.  
Astrid, who straddled him now, got up quickly and pulled him up.

"Gee, you're strong, woman! Are you gonna crush the coconut for Snotty's detox drink with your thighs or with your bare hands?" Tuff laughed and sorted his t-shirt.  
Astrid remembered Snotlout just then again and blushed, as she turned to him.  
"It's okay, I'm fine. I hope you don't mind that I have already unpacked the bag. Steak for you and me?" Snotlout asked with furrowed brows.

Something in his voice was different now. Maybe only Astrid noticed, but Snotlout seemed to be less warmhearted than before.

After dinner Astrid withdrew to learn – she had a test in the next week and wanted to be prepared.  
And admittedly, she felt weird about her flatmates.  
She hadn't forgotten about what Snotlout had said.  
Of course, she would talk to him about his mad family at some point, but not today.

There also was that agreement.  
If there hadn't been an agreement, would she take the invitation to go on a date with one of them after all?  
Snotlout would ask her out for sure.  
Tuffnut certainly would not.  
Most likely she would deny it anyway – they both weren't Hiccup.

Only a little time later a sweet and heavy herbal smell drew her out of her room.  
A dense fog hung in the air.  
Astrid followed the haze and stood in the living room.  
"What about opening a window, guys?" Astrid waved her hand and felt dizzy just because of the vapors she was inhaling.

Snotlout and Tuff looked at Astrid, obviously avoiding to exhale.  
"Come on guys, breathe before your heads explode," Astrid groaned and sat down on the other end of the couch.  
Tuff reached her the bong he was holding and blew a thick stream of blue steam into the air.  
"No, thanks. Maybe someday, but not today," Astrid waved off.  
"So, what are you two doing, except blazing your brain off?"  
"Nothing much. Feeling numb. Raiding the kitchen later," Tuff answered.

"I guess I have a solution for your and Ruffnut's problem with your mom's debts. You could ask your mom to cancel her insurance policy and split the money into two halves. She could pay it to your college fonds. You'd have a loss of some percent, but that's still better than losing all to the state to cover your mom's debts and to renounce the inheritance."

Tuff reached out and pulled Astrid in a bear-like hug.  
"You're great, Astrid. Good to have a lawyer as a friend. Would you tell me all that tomorrow again? I'm pretty sure I won't remember anything of it."  
Astrid leaned back and watched her flatmates. Both stared into the void. Tuffnut moved first and grabbed a can of soda from the table.

"I'm hungry," he stated and closed his eyes.  
"You're always hungry," Snotlout answered and drank a big gulp of coke.  
"Having cottonmouth," Tuff mumbled and didn't move one finger.  
"You just drank soda," Snotlout responded.  
"Did I? Need another one," Tuff sighed.  
After several minutes he bent over to grab two cans from the table.

"We're perfectly prepared," he announced and opened both cans to drink them right away.  
"Yeah, there are twelve sodas. Too bad that there are no chips!"  
"Chips make me thirsty," Tuff said and built a tower with the empty cans.  
"You could drink something," Snotlout suggested.  
"Haven't I just?"   
"I guess so. What about the chips?"  
"Here are no chips."  
"Go and get some chips."  
"Chips make me thirsty."  
"Drink something then. Maybe no soda. That glues your teeth together."  
"Does it? I need water then."  
"Go and get some water. And don't forget the chips."  
"Good idea. I just need to get off this couch. The couch holds me back. Maybe I have put the seatbelt on. Safety first, you know?"

Astrid slapped her hand against her forehead.  
And she was dreading the result of Tuff drinking these amounts of liquids.  
There was hardly anything as annoying as a guy emptying his bladder, hitting the water in the toilet, only felt two feet away from her head in the middle of the night.  
Maybe she could find some earplugs somewhere in her travel case.

"Let me know when you have decided to get your butts up and who made it first.  
I'll go to bed now," Astrid sighed resignedly.  
"Nighty night, angel Astrid. Doesn't she look like an angel? Just like your sister. But your sister has horns on her head and leathery wings. Why did I ever say she was an angel? Tuff, your sister is no angel. She's a mean butt of a demon," Snotlout rambled and snorted. Then he pursed his lips.

"Uh, what do you want from me?"  
"A good night kiss! Do you want a kiss, Tuff?"  
"Why not. But not too wet. G'night A," Tuff smirked and pursed his lips too.  
"Would probably help against your cottonmouth. Kiss him wet," Snotlout cackled, but Tuff just shook his head.  
"Kiss _him_ wet, he'll never wash his face again. Or brush his teeth."  
"Oh yeah, french kiss me! With tongue and all," Snotlout cheered and stuck his tongue out.

"Good night guys. Kiss each other, as far as I'm concerned also with the tongue." Astrid got up and saw from the corner of her eyes, how Tuff stuffed the tongue back into Snotlout's mouth.  
"D'ya wanna kiss me?" Tuff asked.  
"I want chips," Snotlout replied.  
"Chips make me thirsty," Tuff grumbled and stretched his arms.  
"I can't get off the couch. Have I fastened my seat belt?"  
"Safety first, right?"

Astrid wasn't sure if she could stand this nonsense any longer, so she went to the kitchen and brought the boys chips, water, chocolate, and jelly beans.  
"So, that's all we have. Much fun, guys!"

About half an hour later Astrid was dozing off after checking her Facebook, Instagram, and e-mails.  
Suddenly she heard a high-pitched scream – she couldn't miss that, even with her earplugs.  
"What is it, bro?" That was Tuffnut and – oh goodness – he was in the bathroom.  
"A spider! A spider the size of my palm, at least! Oh gods, come look at this!"  
"Sorry bro, can't come right now, I'm midstream. Put a mug over it," Tuff answered.

Astrid growled into her pillow.  
Another scream.  
"What now?"  
"It has moved! Oh no, oh no, oh no, it has fallen, it's somewhere on my bed! Tuff, help!"  
"Can't! I'm not done yet. This is one epic piss, bro."  
"Pinch off the pipe and rescue me!"  
"Wait!"  
"Now!"  
"I said wait! Wait. Wait... okay! No, wait... now! For your rescue, I shall come!"

Astrid had opened her door and could look into Snotlout's room, where Snotlout stood on his bed with her ugly kitten-puppy-meadow mug in his hand.  
"What shall I do?" Tuff asked, still buttoning his jeans.  
"Find the spider! You can't unsee it, it's the size of an apple or a small grapefruit. I'm very sure that it had green eyes. About one hundred!"

"I hate spiders, they move like wound up!" Tuff whined and looked around anxiously.  
"Look under the bed," Snotlout commanded.  
"And if it jumps into my face?" Tuff objected and also jumped onto Snotlout's bed.  
"There, I saw something move! I bet it ran over into your room," Snotlout yelled and clung to Tuffnut's neck.

"I don't want a spider the size of a pineapple in my room. I'm scared! What are we gonna do?"  
"Let's go and ask Astrid if she can help. She's fierce! She will kick the spider's ass!"  
"No need to, guys! I'm already on my way to your rescue. For your rescue I shall come, yeah," Astrid groaned and rubbed her face.

"What will you do? Will you bring it outside?" Snotlout asked.  
"What, the spider the size of a vacuum cleaner with that mug? I guess I'd rather crush it with my shoe."  
"No, I can't see that. Can we wait in your room?" Tuff nagged and already went into Astrid's room.  
"And if the spider has gone into _my_ room?"   
"No way, you would have seen it and sent it right to hell. Could you also look into my room?"  
Snotlout dared to leave his bed too when Astrid had entered his room.  
Quickly he made off and joined Tuff in Astrid's room.

"Oh gosh, when I tell Minden about that, she won't believe me," Astrid groused and looked on Snotlout's ceiling, under his bed, and at the walls, without finding a spider.  
A brief look into Tuff's room didn't bring other insights.

When Astrid wanted to switch off the light in Snotlout's room she saw a spider the size of a fingernail crawl from Snotlout's blanket up the wall.  
"Ha, there you are, you terrifying beast," Astrid laughed, cupped the spider in her hands, and threw it out of the window.

"Okay guys, it's gone. Can I go back to sleep now?" Astrid asked as she entered her room.  
"Are you serious?" she hissed and slowly exhaled.  
Snotlout and Tuffnut had fallen asleep on her bed, Tuffnut being the big spoon to Snotlout.

Shaking her head, Astrid left her room.  
"I guess I'll go sleep somewhere else. Nighty-night, my heroes!"


	4. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid gets to know the twins' mom.  
> Why for god's sake does she believe that Astrid and Tuffnut are a couple?  
> And this was the last straw! Astrid has enough of Tuffnut's pet-peeves and loses her temper.  
> On the next weekend, she decides to do something against her habits; she gets drunk.  
> Of course, Tuffnut and Snotlout join her and they end up playing a drinking game.  
> Then Snotlout goes to sleep.

Another month went by and Tuffnut's mother still was alive as much as Snotlout's mother still was dead.  
Once Astrid had been at the twins' mother's place to give her legal advice how to save her money from the state and give it to her children as long as she was alive.

It had been an emotional talk and Tuffnut had to leave the room, so his mom wouldn't see him crying.  
Ruffnut had shown to be the stronger and smarter twin, very composed and calm.  
After their talk Mrs Thorston had sent the twins out and asked Astrid for a few minutes in private.

Although her body already had been emaciated, she had a strong grip, and she pulled Astrid close, so that she hadn't to put too much effort in her speaking.  
Astrid could hardly look at the woman, who had given so much of her outer appearance to her children.

"Astrid, I'm so glad that we meet. Tuffy has told me so much about you. I guess you're the one. Please be patient with him, he's not anywhere near perfect, but he has a heart of gold. You make him so happy. You're good for him. Thank you so much. I always thought he would have trouble finding someone who accepts him the way he is. And, god is my witness, he isn't easy."

Mrs Thorston stroked Astrid's cheek as she saw her troubled face.  
What had Tuffnut told his mother? Or was that what she assumed? She looked happy and relaxed right now and Astrid didn't have the heart to fill Mrs Thorston in.  
So she solemnly replied: "He's a very special man. I always give my best to treat him the way he deserves it."  
That didn't sound like a love confession at all, but at least appreciative and honest.  
Astrid meant what she said.

When they got out of the tiny apartment, Astrid was groggy.  
"I wouldn't have assumed that it would hit me that hard," she admitted.  
"Well, that's the way it goes when you get involved with real people and not only with cases," Ruff scoffed, but she sounded rather sad than mad.  
"Thanks for your support, Ruff," Astrid said and nodded towards Tuffnut's twin, who rolled next to her on her skateboard.

"Hey bro, will you be there when the palliative care service comes to check on mom? They'll come and care for her every morning and evevning from now on.  
You could help with the insructions. You know, no ventilation in the end, no artificial feeding."

Tuffnut kicked some small stones and shrugged. "I would be in the way, wouldn't I? The nurses would stumble over me all the time, because I was lying on the floor, curled up like a fetus, crying. I was no use to anyone."  
Ruffnut groaned and Astrid thought that the twin girl felt left alone with their mother's dying process.

"Tuff, there are times in life when you have to be brave. _Now_ is the time to be brave. Your mom needs you. And your sister needs you too." Astrid whispered and Tuff sniffed.  
"But I don't want her to die. I don't want to have to say goodbye!"  
Astrid stopped and wrapped her arms around Tuffnut's lanky body. She could feel him tremble and fight against the sobs, which made his ribs twitch.

"Your mom will die if you're there or not. But if you decide to stay away from her you'll regret having missed the chance to spend time with her. Now is the time to say the right things. To ask the right things. Now is the time to memorize whatever she will say."

Tuffnut cried openly, his face buried at Astrid's neck.  
Desperately he clung to Astrid's waist and held on to her as if she was the last straw on earth.  
She stroked his back and rocked him softly.  
Passengers gave them weird looks and turned their heads in their direction, but Ruffnut snarled at them: "What? Got a problem? Never seen a sad man? I bet you're too weak for genuine feelings, sucker!"

Astrid couldn't suppress a giggle and also Tuffnut couldn't help but puffing a small snort against Astrid's cheek. "I'm sorry," he hiccuped and wiped his eyes.  
"You haven't done anything wrong," Astrid tried to soothe him.  
"For once," Ruff scoffed and Tuff showed her the middle finger.

Ruff said goodbye and surprised Astrid and Tuffnut with a brief hug.  
"So, don't let me down, bro," she said before she hopped onto her skateboard and rushed around the corner.

Astrid and Tuffnut walked next to each other, both lost in thoughts.  
Suddenly Astrid woke from her trance as blurted out: "What have you told your mom about us? She seems to think we're a couple."  
"Oh, uh... she got me wrong. I told her that I admire your strength and your ambition. You are also determined and smart and pretty cool. I told her that you and Snotlout complement each other in budgetary management. You're an awesome team, you and Snotty. Well, and while I enthused about you she might have understood that I have a thing for you. I couldn't make myself telling her otherwise, she was so happy. Sorry, A."

"Doesn't mind, I couldn't either," Astrid muttered and playfully shoved Tuffnut.  
After other minutes Astrid asked: "What do you mean, Snotlout and I? Do you think there's something between him and me?"  
Tuffnut shrugged.  
"He flirts with you incessantly. I thought you would notice? Sometimes it seems like you were flirting back."  
"That's not serious. I don't seriously flirt with Snotlout! It's the way he communicates, isn't it?"  
"Yeah sure, when he's in love!"  
"You don't mean it!"  
"Sure do! He has fallen for you and I can't blame him. I thought you two were a lot alike and you would like him."

Astrid gaped at Tuffnut. "I _do_ like him, but not the way you think."  
"Okay," Tuff replied and from the corner of her eyes, she could see his mouth crook upwards into a little smile.

Snotlout didn't take the message of Mrs. Thorston's condition well.  
Since his own mother had died the twins' mother had been like a mother for him as well.  
He cried and skipped dinner on that evening.

Tuff gathered lots of soda cans from the fridge and the leftovers from the day before, then he disappeared into his room to distract himself with gaming.  
Astrid of course felt bad for her friends, but she already was irritated, before the crime was even committed.  
She called Minden and told her about the day, then she called her parents, just to check on them. This day had shown how grateful she actually was that her parents were healthy and alive.

After about two hours, when Astrid was reading one of her books (legal aid, public defense, help for the financially disadvantaged), the culprit went to work.

Astrid tossed her book aside, stomped out of her room, and cracked the bathroom door open. "Caught in the act," she yelled and pointed at Tuff, who flustered looked over his shoulder.  
"What the fuck?" he yelled back.

"Yeah, what the fuck? Is there something wrong with your penis? Do you suffer from penis Parkinson's? Can't you hold your dick and aim anywhere but into the water? No, you roll your hips and bend and bow and swing that thing and make the most possible noise. My head is exactly on the same height as this fucking toilet is, only a badly soundproofed wall away.

I know that it had been a hard day! I know you feel stressed and you tend to pour gallons of that sugary stuff into you when you feel bad. I also know that you like to distract yourself from your overwhelming emotions with gaming and drawing or whatever you do inside your man cave.

I know that you don't consciously perceive the signals that your body sends you long before it's almost too late.  
But what I don't know is, why you can't be a big boy and sit down or at least aim where it isn't that noisy. 

Did you know that the average amount of time it takes to empty your bladder is fifteen to twenty seconds? When you drink your fucking soda, which is absolutely unhealthy by the way, and get lost in your world, you need twice the time, sometimes even three times as much. Your record is one minute and seventeen seconds. I thought you would never stop! It drives me crazy!"

"You keep track of how long I pee? That's pathetic," Tuffnut groused and pouted, but Snotlout, who had joined Astrid, agreed: "It's a terrible pet-peeve, dude! For me it's only half as bad because when you shut the door I can hardly hear you, but if Astrid's ears are near the crime scene..."

When Tuff had zipped his fly Astrid dragged him into her room.  
"Sit down, lean against the headrest, get comfortable," she commanded.  
Tuff did as he was told but looked at Snotlout with a flustered expression.  
Snotlout sat down at the desk and leaned back.  
Astrid grabbed her watering can and filled it. Then she slowly poured the water into the toilet.

"Damn, that's really loud. I haven't known that. Okay, Astrid, I got it," Tuff shouted over to her.  
"No, I want you to listen to that for at least forty seconds."  
"That's mean, I can't focus on anything else," Tuff whined.  
"Suddenly forty seconds seem to me like a whole infinity," Snotlout groaned and then he looked at Tuff, who had his fingers stuck in his ears: "You're a mean flatmate, you know that?"  
"I know," Tuff mumbled regretfully, "but I didn't know that I was _that_ mean."

Astrid came back, put the watering can back on the window sill, and kicked the men out. "Piss off, literally, I don't want to see or hear anything more from you today."  
Tuffnut and Snotlout meekly shuffled out of Astrid's room.  
"Sorry, A," Tuff muttered and Snotlout added: "I don't know why she's even mad at me, I'm not the one causing a tsunami in the toilet bowl."

For the next days, Astrid was busy enough with attending college and giving classes. She also thought that her flatmates avoided her.  
The last weeks had been very exhausting and Astrid felt prickly.  
Probably Snotlout and Tuffnut felt the same about her.

Snotlout's attempts to flirt, Tuffnut's words about her, Mrs. Thorston's misbelief of her and Tuffnut being a couple, Hiccup, who wouldn't have called or texted only once in four months...  
Astrid felt emotionally worn down.

When the weekend came Astrid bought several six-packs of beer and two bottles of SevenUp.  
She didn't drink often, but now she felt like having some beer mix drinks.  
Of course, she didn't plan to get utterly drunk, but at least a little inebriated.  
She would listen to her favorite music and jump on her bed.  
"Are you having a party?" Tuffnut curiously asked when Astrid put her purchases on the table he was sitting on with crossed legs.  
"It's not a party when you don't invite people over, is it?" Astrid replied.  
"Um, I don't know. Looks like party supplies to me," Tuff shrugged and slid from the table.  
"A, I'm sorry that I have upset you. I can't really deal with conflicts that last longer than few hours. Can we push the restart button? I hate it when you're mad at me."

Astrid thought for a while and nodded. "Actually I'm not mad at you. The whole situation makes me kind of cringy. Call Snotlout, he shall bring more beer. Let's get drunk together."

"I didn't know you drink beer at all," Tuff grinned.  
"There's so much you don't know," Astrid grinned back.

An hour later Snotlout came back from grocery shopping and Astrid and Tuff rushed down the stairs to help him carry the six-packs and other purchases.  
Snotlout and Astrid prepared dinner together, fried celery cutlets in crispy breadcrumbs, mashed potatoes, and carrot salad.

When the dishes were washed, the kitchen cleaned and the dinner half-digested, Astrid went to her room.  
"What are you doing?" Snotlout wanted to know.  
"Putting on my party dress," Astrid said and winked.  
Minutes later she came back in a short black sequin dress.

"Wow. I feel underdressed. In our own flat," Tuff announced and looked down at his torn jeans and his bleached t-shirt.  
"You're right," Astrid agreed and disappeared again for some minutes.  
When she came back she wore long flannel pajama pants, a tank top with Sailor Moon on it, and a cardigan.

She went to the kitchen and took two bottles of beer and a bottle of SevenUp from the fridge.  
She opened one beer bottle and poured some into a glass, refilling the bottle with lemonade.  
"Interesting technique. I prefer it the easy way," Tuff laughed, opened his beer, and drank.  
Then he burped.

"I can do better," Snotlout crowed and drank his beer in several big gulps, causing him to burp even louder.  
"For someone that tiny you have a pretty big resonance body. Nice vibrato at the end," Tuff applauded.  
"Oh guys, I hope you won't do that with every sip you take," Astrid sighed.

"I bet Astrid can't burp. She can't fart either. That's why she's so mad, because of all the gas inside her body," Tuff scoffed.  
"A lady doesn't fart in the presence of others. A gentleman doesn't either," Astrid mentioned and wasn't exactly sure if she meant what she said.  
"I for one am no gentleman. I'm hardly even a man, I have no beard. Or hair on my chest. Or muscles like Snotlout."

"That's how you define being a man? I am not as big as other men are. And I can cook. I sometimes cry. Am I less a man now?"  
Astrid felt amazed that her male fellows felt self-conscious about their bodies such as she felt self-conscious about herself.

"As a woman, you have to be shaved, no matter if you're in a relationship or not, no matter if you feel like shaving or not, otherwise you're an unkempt slut who doesn't care for her look.  
When you're slim you're surely anorexic, when you're obese you surely eat all day, you can't do it right.  
Wearing make-up means a woman wants to be seen, being natural means she is a lesbian and gives a fuck. Being a woman sucks sometimes."

"I drink on that," Snotlout cheered.  
"Being a man sometimes sucks too! You have to be strong and cool, logical and you mustn't show emotions. If you don't care for your clothes you surely are a lazy sociopath, being dressed nicely is a code for homosexuality. I say fuck the gender system!"  
All raised their bottles to Snotlout's words.

Soon after they had settled in the living room, each of them had brought arms full of beer bottles and placed them on the table.  
Tuffnut and Snotlout now were dressed in pajama pants as well (Star Wars and simple plaid) and got comfortable on the couch.  
Astrid had changed her technique: she drank a gulp of beer and then a gulp of SevenUp from her glass.

"Let's play a drinking game! I make an assumption about one of you and ask a question that can only be answered with yes or no. If I'm wrong, I have to drink. If I'm right, you have to drink. When I'm right I may make another assumption. We get to know each other better and have fun getting drunk."

"I wanna start! You cannot burp," Tuff stated and laughed.  
Astrid drank and Tuff looked quite smug, but then Astrid belched as loud as Snotlout had before.  
The guys bowed and clapped their hands.  
"Honour to whom honour is due," Tuff humbly said.

"Now it's my turn! Something easy: You're an only child," Snotlout excitedly threw in. Astrid drank.  
"Okay, it's my turn again, right? You have hardly any fears, except failing."  
Astrid drank.  
"That's a pretty depressing question, Lout," Tuff mumbled, but then he beamed: "What about that? When you were a child you had a fantasy friend,"  
Astrid drank.  
"You were lonely as a child."  
"Snotlout, your assumptions are cruel! We don't want to make Astrid cry, do we?"  
"Okay, you love traveling." Astrid drank.  
"You lost virginity to the one and only and it was a well-planned event."  
"No! Drink," Astrid laughed, glad that she was having a short break. Her stomach already felt bubbly from only a few gulps.  
After several minutes she felt better and could also ask her questions:

"You have kissed each other at least once," she wanted to know. Both men drank.  
"But you're not gay." Both drank.  
Astrid became cheeky and narrowed her eyes as she asked: "Mutual masturbation?"  
Tuffnut and Snotlout laughed. "What is that supposed to be?"  
"Yeah, do you mean that we have jacked off together or each other?"

"Hmmm," Astrid thoughtfully tapped her lips with her index finger. Then she cocked her head. "Together!"  
Hesitantly the boys rose their bottles and drank.  
"Okay, each other?"  
"Nope. Drink! My turn! You haven't made a pregnancy test yet."  
"Actually I have. Drink! You," Astrid pointed to Tuffnut, "haven't slept with a woman so far."

Tuff leaned back, rose his bottle slowly, and then smirked: "Drink, unbeliever!"  
"You have puked on your first party with alcohol," he assumed.  
Astrid rolled her eyes and drank. "Well, who hasn't?"  
"You have been eighteen or older then."  
"No, drink! You haven't been friends from the start."  
They drank.  
"You have bullied him before," Astrid nodded towards Tuff.  
"Nope. The other way around. Drink. You have farted while giving classes and gone on as if nothing had happened."  
Astrid blushed but drank.  
"Ha, I knew it. You're _not_ perfect!"

"I have seen so many letters for you now and I know your names. Why don't you use your actual names?" Astrid wanted to know, but Snotlout and Tuffnut contradicted: "That's not how the game's working! Yes or no-questions, also, I don't say anything without my lawyer!"

"The lawyer is present. Is your name Gary Jorgenson?"  
Snotlout drank and grumbled. Tuff laughed at that.  
"Suspect Thorston, is your name LaVerne?"  
Grumpily Tuff took a gulp.

Astrid felt a little dizzy and couldn't tell if the quite private questions made her head spin or if the beer was showing first effects. Maybe both.  
The more they drank, the more they asked questions with sexual content.  


"I won't answer any question according to my ex, to be clear! Which position he liked, blah blah. He's not existent to me anymore!" Astrid was pretty inebriated but could manage to be serious enough to keep her flatmates from asking questions about her relationship to Hiccup. It was too hurtful to admit that he had ditched her and didn't care the slightest after four years. Tuff and Snotlout complied.

At last, Astrid knew that Tuffnut's first wet dream had been about his sister, that the last sex he had was about eighteen months ago, that the weirdest place where Snotlout had jerked off had been his grandma's closet, that he had already cried during masturbation (there was no correlation with the closet) and the guys knew that Astrid sometimes got aroused when she was angry.

At some point Snotlout got up and slurred: "Sorry guys, gotta sleep. Almost forgot, must crawl under Tiffany tomorrow. Dagur and I meet at 9.30."  
"Who's Tiffany?"  
"Their Camaro. Dagur and Snotty pimp that car since forever. Wanna go sleep too?"  
"No, not so much. You?"  
"Nah. Wanna go on?"

Astrid had to think about a question, then she asked: "If there wasn't this agreement, would you ask me out?"  
Tuffnut drank, then he added: "If I wasn't too shy either."  
"Pfff, you're not shy," Astrid snorted.  
"If you knew... so, would you say yes?" Tuff asked.  
Astrid drank.  
"Have you ever thought about pulling the shower curtain aside and joining me in the shower?"  
Tuff drank.  
"Have you ever wished for that?"  
Astrid didn't know how to answer, so she took a very small sip.  
"That's still a yes," Tuff grinned and dug his hand between the seat cushions.  
Then he fiddled with his pants and crossed his legs.

"You have an erection right now," Astrid whispered and leaned forward.  
"Would you be very mad at me if that was true?"  
Astrid shook her head. "Nope. Answer!"  
"Wanna check it out?"  
"That's not how it works, you can't answer with a new question," Astrid scolded Tuff but Tuff ignored her, leaned over, and placed a kiss on Astrid's lips.

Astrid closed her eyes – not only her head was spinning, but her heart also jumped excitedly in her chest.  
She opened her mouth and breathed against Tuff's mouth before their tongues met.  
Only a few seconds Tuff withdrew, took his bottle, and emptied it.  
"There's your answer," he gasped.  
Astrid took her bottle too, drank the rest, and wiped her mouth.  
"That was mine!"

Tuff pulled Astrid on his lap and she ground pleasantly against his hard length.  
Cupping his face, Astrid looked at him, stroked his cheeks, and muttered: "We shouldn't do that. I mean, your agreement with Snotlout. I don't want to get between you. We're also just so horny because of all these questions."  
Astrid kissed Tuff's nose and got off his lap.

Confused, Tuff followed Astrid with his eyes and then peeked down to his erection.

"Yeah, but... uh-" Tuff was at a loss of words and watched Astrid walk away.  
His mind was too blurry to understand the details, but Astrid had ditched him with a raging boner. Frustrated he punched one of the cushions and crossed his arms.  
The increased heart rate was certainly caused by his arousal, not by the stinging pain of rejection he now felt.  
Why was it even so important to him to fuck silly Astrid? She was kind of stuffy, least to say bourgeois.

But still, he couldn't go to bed like that, so he pulled his dick from his pants and slowly began to stroke himself.  
Not the same as having sex, but a relief in the end.  
"Need a hand?" Astrid suddenly asked behind him.  
"Nah, thanks! I'm pretty good at that."  
Nevertheless Tuff pulled his pants again over his throbbing cock. 

As he turned around he almost choked: Astrid was naked and leaned against the wall.  
"You didn't have to stop because of me. I liked what I saw."  
"You- you liked...?" Tuff stuttered and made a distinct hand move.  
"Yeah, I think it's hot. You are hot. I made up my mind, Tuff. We can do anything, but it has to stay between us, okay?  
Could you keep our little secret?" Astrid seductively hummed, went around the couch, and bent over Tuff.

"Yes, maybe, yes! Yeah, sorry, can't think right now. No blood in brain!"  
Astrid didn't care for Tuff's state of mind, she only felt the need to be filled – it had been way too long since she had had sex. And Tuff seemed to be the right candidate for her undertaking: not interested in her when sober (at least she thought so), not prude, good looking in his own way.

She sat down on his lap again and rolled her hips against his hips.  
Tuff groaned and closed his eyes – having Astrid's breasts right in front of his face worked against his body control.  
Then she kissed him, she kissed him with slightly opened lips and with the tip of her tongue she traced his teeth, and it all was dreamy, so hot and...

...before Tuff could pant for air and brace himself for the inevitable eruption, Astrid got off of him and pulled him from the couch.  
"Do you have condoms?" she whispered and Tuff nodded quickly.  
He hoped that they were still durable. The last time he had used one of them was quite long ago.

They headed to Tuff's room, hardly breaking the kiss.  
Astrid pulled the t-shirt over Tuff's head and looked at him with admiration.  
She had seen him topless many times already, and she had seen his butt and also the root of his private parts when he had shown the scar of his inguinal hernia surgery.

But now Astrid looked at him and saw a different man, a very vulnerable and self-conscious man who didn't dare to touch her anywhere else than on her hips.  
She saw a wiry body, slightly toned though a little too scrawny.  
"Touch me," Astrid demanded and took his hands, guiding them to her breasts.  
When Tuff touched her firm flesh, the pertly erect nubs, he almost was lost. Shivering he backed away and felt how Astrid jostled him to the bed.

She straddled his legs and pulled down his pants.  
With a hungry expression, she pointedly looked at his erection and joyfully ran her fingers from the tip to the base.  
"Where are the condoms?" Astrid asked and Tuff opened the drawer of his nightstand.  
He hoped that Astrid wouldn't notice the lube and the uncountable used handkerchiefs in it, which he had heedlessly stuffed into it.

With shaking hands, he tried to open the package, but there was no use.  
"Let me do it," Astrid offered, opened the box, fumbled a sachet out, and opened it.  
Using her left hand she got a grip of Tuff's pulsating cock and with her right hand, she tried to put the condom on.  
But when she added pressure to her action she felt a treacherous pumping and how Tuff's whole body went stiff.

Tuff quickly covered his cock with his hands and looked panicky at Astrid.  
"You- you have come," Astrid said and furrowed her brows.  
"I can explain," Tuff whined and Astrid let herself drop next to him.  
"No need to."  
"I'll head to the bathroom cleaning up that mess. Don't you go away, I'll be right back. I can do it, promised."

Astrid wasn't sure if Tuff wanted to prove to her or himself that he was able to have sex, even though he was clearly drunk and inexperienced.  
This could be fun to teach him what exactly to do.  
Suddenly she didn't feel so excited about the idea of having sex with Tuff anymore.  
She picked up a Gameboy and switched it on.  
Maybe Tuff would get the message when he saw her playing Tetris.

When Tuff came back he saw Astrid leaning against the headrest, legs crossed, tapping on the buttons of the small console.  
"You've never been so sexy before," he purred from the bottom of his gamer heart.  
Tuff jumped onto the bed, took away the Gameboy from Astrid's hands, and kissed her passionately.  
This time he seemed to be less troubled to caress her skin, to latch on her nipples, give them a flick with his tongue...  
Also elsewhere Tuff was very talented with his tongue and Astrid melted into his giving mouth.

When he thought that Astrid was wet enough he reappeared between her legs and asked sheepishly: "Do you still want me to...?"  
Astrid, hardly able to process the question, just nodded.  
"I'll put it on myself. I don't want to – you know. I can control it better if I do it myself."  
Astrid nodded again.  
Then Tuff sank into her, holding his breath.  
He couldn't disappoint Astrid again.  
But when Astrid dug her fingernails into his butt and thrust her hips forward, she felt him twitching in her.  
"Fuck," Tuff yelled and Astrid sighed annoyedly.  
"Again?"  
Tuff nodded and angrily ripped the condom from his cock.

As Astrid wanted to get up, he shoved her gently back to the bed.  
"No way, I won't let you go out of here without an orgasm," Tuff insisted and spread Astrid's legs.  
She tasted salty and Tuff thought that she was perfect.  
He dipped his tongue into her, sucked her nub, nibbled her folds, and finally made her cry out in relief when she came.

The feeling of Astrid's sex pulsating on his mouth, the sound of her hoarse cries had caused him another erection.  
Astrid loved the view of Tuff's cock; it was long and thick and had a nice shaped head.  
"Screw it, let's give it another try," she decided and unpacked a new condom, rolled it quickly over Tuff's length, and straddled him.

Carefully she impaled herself with his eight inches, but he didn't climax this time.  
Also as Astrid began to rock her hips, ground her folds against his pubic bone, thrust her pelvis against his, he didn't come.  
This Time Tuff came when he felt Astrid's tight walls clench around his cock, when her orgasm hit her.  
The satisfying relief of a relaxed orgasm made him sleepy and he could just manage to get rid of the condom, wipe his groin and pull Astrid into his arms.

He placed a kiss on her cheek and drowsily mumbled: "Nighty-night, A. Love you."  
But Astrid had already fallen asleep.


	5. Jobs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a night with Tuffnut, Astrid wakes up and regrets what has happened.  
> She avoids him for weeks until her upset feelings have calmed down again.  
> In the meantime, Astrid goes on a date with someone, who asks her to keep it secret.  
> Tuffnut has got a job offer and on the day he signs the contract he gets to know someone, who makes his feelings tumble too.

Astrid woke up as she heard the shower.  
The one in whose armpit she had woken up could use a shower too, she thought.  
Then she realized suddenly, that she neither was lying in her own bed nor was she wearing anything.  
Instead, she was pressed against a warm body, a distinctly male body.

For a moment she watched Tuffnut, who looked very young and innocent in his sleep, then she wiggled out of his embrace.  
"No, don't go A. It's so comfy and you're so soft and warm," Tuff hummed without opening an eye.

"Snotlout's under the shower. If I go to my room now he maybe won't notice that I have spent the night with you."  
"Would that be a problem?" Tuff asked and crawled out of his bed.  
Astrid tried to focus on something else than his morning glory.

Tuff realized that Astrid was embarrassed because of his nudity and took a pair of boxers from his closet.  
"You just told me yesterday that Snotlout might have a crush on me. I guess it wouldn't be very nice to rub into his face that we had sex. Besides, I don't remember much. It's better to forget about it, isn't it?" Astrid sighed. That was a lie, she could remember every detail.  
How his hands had felt on her hips, how his mouth... these thoughts sent a shiver down her spine.

"Yeah, can hardly remember anything either," Tuff lied back.  
"Cool. That's cool. We're cool, aren't we? Bros. Bro and sis, like brosis." Astrid fist-bumped Tuff and hurried to get into her room.  
The shower was switched off.

Later in the kitchen, when Snotlout had left the house, Astrid was squeezing oranges, feeling slightly sick.  
It took a lot of willpower to lead her thoughts to something else than last night.

Her attempts made no longer sense as Tuff entered the kitchen, rubbing his hair with a towel, radiating a fresh and ... sexy smell.  
No, Astrid thought, not sexy. Absolutely not!  
"I didn't know you had a tattoo," Astrid announced and gathered Tuff's hair in her hands so that she could have a better look at the tattoo between his shoulder blades.

"Huh? Oh, that's a two-headed dragon, called Barf and Belch. Ruffnut has the same. When we were younger we made a burping contest at school. We drank root beer. I won the contest because Ruffnut suddenly had to barf. So, that's what people called us then. She was Barf and I was Belch. And we both like dragons."  
Astrid let Tuff's hair down again and accidentally brushed her fingertips over his shoulders, causing his skin to react with goosebumps.

He turned around and tried to pull Astrid close, but she defensively rose her hands.  
"Wait, what are you up to?" she asked with suppressed anger in her voice.  
"We're alone, so I thought..." Tuff began, but Astrid cut him off: "You thought? What? _What_ exactly did you think? That we're happy ever after from now on? See, we've been drunk. All these questions about masturbation and sex – no wonder that we have been horny. But last night has been nothing, it doesn't mean anything. You and I, we're bros, forgot?"

With these words Astrid left the kitchen, forgetting about her orange juice.  
She put on her sports gear and went out to run.  
Faster and harder than any time before she ran and ran, but she couldn't escape her thoughts.  
Tuffnut wasn't Hiccup.  
Tuffnut wasn't what she was looking for.

But he makes you happy, her heart contradicted.  
He makes you angry and irritated, her head replied.  
He makes your body feel inexplicably phenomenal, her belly announced.  
Astrid wanted to mute her inner monologue with a bloodcurdling scream, as she suddenly ran towards a workshop – Dagur's garage.

She had no idea how she had gotten there and how long she had run, she also didn't know where she was and how to get home later (she could still ask people for the way), but she now stood in front of the open gate.  
Johnny Cash sounded out of the working hall.  
Further, she could hear voices and laughter.  
Above all voices was Snotlout's, singing at the top of his lungs – and he was _good_ , an octave higher than the Man in Black. 

"Snotlout?" Astrid shouted, and three musclebound and sweaty men stretched their necks to get a glimpse of the girl, who stood in front of the gate.  
"Astrid," Snotlout beamed and grabbed a cloth to wipe his oily hands, "what a surprise! Did you want to visit me at work?"

Still short of breath from running, Astrid replied: "That wasn't the plan, I was trying a new route for running. Now I'm here. I thought I could say hello at least. "  
She looked around Snotlout and saw a man who had to be Dagur: red hair, red beard, tank top.  
The other one had to be Eret, the tall and handsome womanizer Snotlout had told about.

Astrid came closer and waved. "Hey guys, I'm Astrid!"  
"Hey Lout, you have not exaggerated with her beauty! I am Dagur, we once talked on the phone. Nice voice. Nice everything _else_ ," the redhaired said and quirked his brows.  
Astrid smiled but felt kind of exposed.  
In Dagur's eyes was predatory lust. Obviously, she was prey to him.

"I'm Eret," the other mentioned briefly and Astrid thought that he appeared good-natured and kind.  
"Let me introduce you to Tiffany," Snotlout grinned excitedly and led Astrid by the arm over to a black Camaro.

He jumped into the car and switched the engine on, a loud roaring filled the hall and the smell of gas flooded the air.  
"Impressive! When will you come home?" Astrid asked and tried to let it sound casual.  
"Probably after lunch. We wanted to adjust the carburetor and leave her be for today. Do you wanna stay? You could ride my bike and I jog home."  
"Sure, why not?" Astrid wanted to be anywhere but at home. She didn't know if Tuffnut would be there, but she felt so awkward around him.  
Some days on distance would be good for them.

Astrid managed to avoid Tuffnut as well as possible by giving extra classes and running before college.  
In the evenings she was too exhausted to hang out with her flatmates.  
After about two weeks she felt comfortable again in Tuffnut's presence and he also seemed to have found back to his former, asexual self.

Snotlout continued hitting on Astrid, sometimes very subtle, but more often pudgily.  
Patiently, Astrid endured Snotlouts rapprochements and kept telling him to think about the agreement.  
Waving off, Snotlout always had two answers at hand: "Just joking, like Tuff and I tell each other to suck the other's dick," or "Tuff wouldn't mind anyway."

One night, when Astrid sat at her desk, nose buried in her studies, her phone buzzed. An unknown number calling her? Her number was one of the best-kept secrets, so who could it be?  
Curiously she answered the call.  
"Hey, this is Eret!"  
"Eret?"  
"Snotlout's colleague. I couldn't stop thinking of you since I saw you. So I took Snotlout's phone to get your number."  
"Uh, I guess I should feel flattered, but I'm honestly upset. I haven't assumed you were that sneaky. You could have asked Snotlout. Or me!"

There was silence in the line.  
"I'm sorry. I knew Snotlout wouldn't give me your number because he is so infatuated with you. I wouldn't have given him your number either."  
"Okay, that's... disturbing and sweet. But also not okay. We shouldn't start like that."  
"Would you give me a chance to prove that I'm worth the trouble? What about dinner? At Giacomo's on Friday?"

Astrid was flattered, but she didn't want to give in too quickly.  
But after almost half an hour she left Eret off the hook.  
With trembling hands she noted time and place to meet Eret and then dropped onto her bed, goofily smiling.

Finally, someone was interested in her, who hadn't to stick to a silly flatmate-agreement, who was no little man without self-confidence or a mentally unstable stoner.  
Astrid counted the hours until their date.

On Friday Astrid came from college and found Tuffnut in front of the mirror in the corridor.  
He was wearing a fresh shirt, that actually looked ironed.  
"Wow, what's the occasion?" Astrid wanted to know.  
Tuff put on a slim suit jacket and suddenly looked way more mature.  
"I got a temporary job offer. Do I look alright?"

Astrid straightened his collar and touched the soft skin of his neck.  
"You look awesome. Shall I braid your hair? I bet your future boss wants to see your handsome face." Astrid bit her tongue and blushed. Why had she said that?  
Tuffnut chuckled and cocked his head, but instead of responding to the comment he smiled and said: "If showing my handsome face has a positive effect on getting the job I'd like to take your offer."

Astrid knew that she should get herself dressed for her date, but for a reason, she couldn't get it felt more important to her to help Tuff getting this job.  
He needed money and maybe he could already draw attention to his skills.  
She pressed him onto a chair in the kitchen and began to detangle his dreadlocks.  
Brushing through his locks with her fingers gave her a weird comfort.  
Tuffnut couldn't sit still on the chair and Astrid put her hands on his shoulders.  
"Shhhh, don't be so nervous. Try to get hold of yourself, less fidgeting, hun! You'll do great, just have a little faith in yourself."

Tuff gulped and couldn't stop moving his legs.  
"What if they want to know too many things and I can't answer and they continue asking and I get nervous and run away? What if it's all too much and there are too many lights and people and sounds and a fish tank with bubbles and seahorses? I like seahorses, I have never seen any in real life.  
Did you know that the male seahorses carry the eggs and give birth to hundreds of tiny seahorse babies? They hold on to blades of seaweed with their tails so that the current can't wash them away.  
What if I sign the contract with Tuffnut instead of LaVerne? Sometimes I forget that this is my name. I hate it, by the way, can't imagine that my mom really liked it. Ruffnut's name is Eugene. She's no Eugene to me. Before she was Ruffnut she always had been Gene or Ginny to me. But now..."

"Tuff, calm down. I can't believe that I say this, but maybe you should smoke a little blunt before you go.  
Just two draws and all is fine. Not so much that you look like an albino bunny and get fits of laughter, but enough to make you calm."  
Tuff pulled Astrid in a rib-crushing hug and mumbled: "Thank you A. It's good to have you back."  
Astrid suddenly felt the urge to slide her fingers to the back of Tuff's neck, to play with the baby hair which always hung loose there, to stroke him and...  
"I'll get you a soda, go wrap your spliff thing," Astrid commanded and shoved Tuff away from her.

What was that? Maybe it was the smell of... wait, was it her shampoo?  
Astrid rushed over to Tuff's room, she wanted to scold him because of the shampoo, but just teasingly.  
If she thought about it, it didn't matter to her, if he used her shampoo or not.  
When she arrived with screeching heels, she saw him sit on the sill of the open window, the blunt in the corner of his mouth, casually talking on the phone.  
"Yeah mom, Astrid has ensured that I don't look like a hobo. - I know, she's great. Yeah, I'll call you later or tomorrow, I don't know how late it will be when I come home today. - Love you too!"

"Hey, I got your soda. You look good and you'll convince them with your wit.  
Good luck, bro."  
Tuff stubbed out the blunt and got up.  
"Thank you, Astrid. I'll go now. Better shouldn't be late."  
Astrid handed him the can and had to swallow as he called her by her full name.  
"Hey, don't forget to use the bathroom before."  
Tuff smirked and slid down the handrail.  
"Try to not break your neck on the way," Astrid yelled behind him.  
"Yeah, mom," he replied laughing.

A look on her watch told Astrid to hurry. She could be on time if she spared most of the makeup.  
Suddenly she felt listless and tired, but she wouldn't let Eret down.

The night was successful nonetheless and Astrid had a lot of fun.  
Eret was attentive and generous and although he sometimes appeared like a macho, he was sensitive and sweet.  
Astrid liked him and at the end of the date, she agreed to meet him again.  
What she didn't like was, that Eret asked her to keep their dates secret, because he didn't want to upset Snotlout.

Tuff arrived twenty minutes early at his destination.  
A huge office complex with uncountable windows towered above him and Tuff felt very small.  
After announcing himself he was sent to the twelfth floor.  
Being a good student he paid attention to Astrid's advice and went to the bathroom.  
He didn't feel like having to, but Astrid was right about his lack to notice body signals.

When he washed his hands the door opened and a young man his age entered.  
Actually, the man was quite average, but his emerald green eyes caught Tuff's attention – he had never seen so green eyes before.  
The outgrown haircut appeared intentionally tousled.  
"Hey," he greeted and Tuff answered flabbergasted: "Uh, hey too."  
The other one laughed briefly and went into one of the cabins.  
Tuff hurried to get out of there. 

A secretary asked Tuff to sit down in one of the offices in front of a huge desk.  
His secret wish was, to destroy all of this overpriced mahogany furniture with an ax.  
There were no pictures on the wall, just framed diplomas, and certificates, but Tuff couldn't see what for without getting up from his chair.  
He didn't dare to and stayed in his place.

Exactly on time, a large man with a thick red beard entered the room.  
He wore a custom-made suit and a ponytail.  
Tuff thought that he looked like a Viking in a suit.  
He jumped off his chair and waited until the bearlike man dropped to his armchair.

"LaVerne Thorston, I guess? Sit down, please. Are you nervous?"  
Tuff sat down and nodded.  
"No need to," the Viking smirked mischievously.  
Tuff took a deep breath and tried to start the conversation, but his mind was empty.  
Luckily there was no fishtank.

"My name is Horace Haddock II. My father, Horace Haddock I was the founder of this company.  
It had been successful and there had been hard times too. Currently, we're having a good time, but there are dangers that I can't foresee.  
Virtual dangers, which could threaten our entire existence. One of my headhunters has found you and your sister and recommended calling you."

Tuff cleared his throat and tried to find sense in what Mr. Haddock said.  
"Well, what exactly do you want me to do then? I'm a student at the local college, faculty of arts. I study character design and animation, focus on video games."

"I know that. But I also know that you're a hacker. You and your sister are very precious to my company. I also made your sister a job offer. We need skillful programmers, who are also creative."

Tuff squirmed on his seat. "Means?"  
"Your job is to hack our system."  
"What? Why? You probably have professional programmers and internet safety people, don't you?"  
"Sure, but usually the ambitious laymen are a bigger problem. If a laity like you can hack the system all the security isn't worth a penny. I want you to find all safety flaws. And I want your sister to fix them.  
You're young and creative and you'll meet these problems with another energy than my long-serving computer guys."

"This job will be of limited duration?" Tuff wanted to know. "Because I actually want to work in another field."  
"Until all flaws are discovered. You'll get hourly wages. Your working place will be in one of our offices. No home office, that's too risky. And, very important: your job is top secret. No one has to know that Haddock Ltd. Has internet security flaws. Industrial espionage could mean our ruin. I count on your discretion."

The door opened and the young man Tuff had met in the bathroom slipped in.  
"That's my son, Horace Haddock III.  
He's still a student but already one of our leading engineers. I'm more kind of a maker and he is a thinker. A bright mind, my son," Mr. Haddock proudly told.

"Yeah father, too much of the praise. I have lots of ideas and a third of them are rubbish, but my father has unwavering trust in me, as it seems.  
I'll give you an introduction to your working place. Usually, Julie does that, but she had to leave early.  
Come with me..."  
"Tuffnut," Tuff burst out, regretting it immediately, "Sorry, that's my nickname. My name is LaVerne, but I hear it so rarely that I almost forgot about it."

Horace Haddock III nodded and grinned: "Call me Hiccup then!"  
Although he knew that he was supposed to listen, Tuffnut couldn't focus on anything else than the slight limping of the young man, who led him over a corridor.  
"What's the thing with your hip-swing?" Tuff blurted out and angrily pressed his lips together for being that tactless.

"Pardon me?" Hiccup interrupted himself and turned around to Tuffnut.  
"I'm sorry! I have ADHD and sometimes my mouth is faster than my mind. I noticed that you limp. Hope you're not hurt," Tuff explained apologetically.  
"No, I'm not hurt, I have a prosthesis on my left leg. I lost it down the knee in a motorbike accident when I was fifteen. I have an excellent prosthesis, but it's no real leg. Hence the limping.  
Can I go on with my text, or do you feel distracted by anything else?"

"Huh? No, I guess I can focus now. So, your company is managed in the second generation of Haddocks and you'll take over the management one day?"  
"Not exactly like that. I'm supposed to be the head engineer and CEO, but I'm not a businessman like my dad and grandpa are. So I guess I'll manage the company together with a team of CEOs or an executive board." Hiccup unlocked a door and switched the light on.

The room behind the door was small and filled with a huge desk, several monitors, keyboards, and mouses on it. Two big and towers were hidden beneath the table.  
"That's it. From here you'll operate your hack attacks and spying attempts."  
"And what we try to protect from real spying attempts are plans for devices for renewable energies?" Tuff asked sheepishly.

"Quite this! My team and I work on car engines, which can be recharged by compressed sunlight. Of course, many companies try to figure out how to move cars in an eco-friendly way and if they copied our technique, we would lose our commercial value.  
Discretion is very important, but also careful working. Could you do that job or do you think your ADHD would get in your way?"

Tuffnut thought for a moment, then he replied: "Can I listen to music while working?"  
Hiccup shrugged. "I don't see why not."  
"Okay. I can do it," Tuffnut then said and nodded emphatically.

"Great! Let's get back to dad then, so you can sign the contract!"  
Hiccup grinned brightly and Tuffnut felt a tingly sensation spread in his stomach.  
After signing the contract and saying goodbye to Mr. Haddock II Tuffnut was accompanied by Hiccup to the exit.  
"I'm very looking to seeing you again, Tuffnut. Julie will call and tell you when you start to work. Shirts are not required, you'll have no customer contact."

As Hiccup shook Tuffnut's hand, Tuff felt almost as high as if he had smoked a full-sized blunt.  
Hiccup's hand was warm with a firm grip.  
"Thanks. Bye then," was all that Tuff was able to say until he arrived at home.  
Except for grinning like a maniac, Tuff couldn't manage to do anything anyway.

Back home Tuff met Snotlout in the kitchen, obviously having the munchies.  
"Tuffinator, how's it been?" Snotlout asked and pulled the excitedly bobbing man into his arms.  
"Awesome, El Snotto! Got the job!"  
"Awesome, really! Wanna celebrate? I'm having one or seven sandwiches. Could also offer you a cool beer," Snotlout smiles eagerly and pushed a plate with sandwiches under Tuff's nose.

"Veggie?" Tuff asked and Snotlout nodded, mouth full with a sandwich.  
"Coolio, I'll take one. Hope you're not mad at me when I make off into my own four walls. I'm way too tired to celebrate."  
"Good night, bro. Congrats," Snotlout stuffed the next sandwich into his mouth and maneuvred his plate and himself back to the living room.

Tuff changed his clothes and got comfortable in his pajama pants.  
Actually, he wasn't hungry, his heart beat too fast and his stomach made loopings.  
He had felt a little like that when he had kissed Astrid and waited for her answer if she wanted to check out his erection.  
Now he had no erection, but butterflies in his belly.  
He went to brush his teeth and knocked on Astrid's door, but she didn't answer.

With furrowed brows, Tuff shuffled back to his room and laid down to sleep.  
About two hours later Tuff woke up to the sound of Astrid's heels.  
He listened carefully to how she went to the bathroom and got ready for bed.  
When she came out of the bathroom, Tuff intercepted her: "Astrid, do you have a minute?"

Startled Astrid jumped and hissed: "Why do you have to scare me like that? Yes, I guess I have a minute."  
"Awesome! Come in! Guess what happened?"  
"You got the job?"  
"I got the job. And I could have a crush on someone," Tuff grinned.

Astrid's heartbeat accelerated and she swallowed.  
"That's good, great, I'm proud of you! And who are you having a crush on?"  
"I can't tell you his name, but he's got the greenest eyes I've ever seen. And his smile... Astrid, I'm in love!"  
"Oh," she announced and wasn't sure what kind of feeling she was perceiving.  
Was it jealousy? If so, why?  
"Oh," she repeated and sought for the right words, "yeah, that's great, totally great. I would be really happy if I got to know him someday. Have you told Snotlout about it?"

Tuff shook his head and brushed some of his dreadlocks out of his face.  
"No, he was too stoned to remember anything of it tomorrow, I suppose. And to be honest, he doesn't really know that I could fall in love with men."  
"You kissed each other! He will probably guess that you might have a tendency to fall for men too," Astrid reminded Tuff and rolled her eyes. Then she realized that he looked happy like never before since she knew him.  
Tuff laughed and rambled: "I'm so excited! We won't work together in the same division, but I guess I'll see him often enough. Ooooh, I have never felt that way!"  
Tuff hugged and lifted Astrid from the floor so that it took her breath away, then he pressed a quite moist kiss onto her forehead.

"Oh wow, uh, thanks. I should go to bed now, it's late and I'm tired. Good night then," she awkwardly waved and opened Tuff's door.  
"Wait missy, where have you come from that late?" Tuff suddenly wanted to know.  
"I- I have been on a date," Astrid mumbled and couldn't get away fast enough.  
"A date? Great! With who?"  
"Can't tell you. Not yet. See, we're both having a secret."

Astrid slowly slunk into her room.  
While she felt kind of - she couldn't grasp it – disappointed? Sad? Mad? - Tuff seemed to be genuinely glad for her to have had a date.  
Did she want him to feel disappointed too? Did she want him to – what was it that she wanted?  
Gosh, why was it all so complicated since she had had sex with Tuffnut?  
It had been sex, no love confession! Was she in love with him? No. Definitely not! But why was she so mad at him right now?  
Astrid crawled beneath her blanket and couldn't find the sleep she was needing so badly.


	6. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid and Tuffnut get into an argument again.  
> While Astrid is looking for distraction, Tuff doesn't want to be distracted at all.  
> Are both about to find their true mates, the true love even?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter was supposed to be longer, but then it became so long that I had to split it up.  
> Now it's quite short.  
> I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.

Tuff started his new job on a Tuesday – Julie, the Haddock's personal secretary had called him and explained, when he should show up.  
From then Tuff had free time management so that he still could do his job for the service hotline.

Every time Tuffnut stepped out of the elevator, he cricked his neck to see if a certain Hiccup was around.  
Sometimes he was lucky and Horace Haddock III limped through the corridors to have a short talk to his dad, and on his way back to his own office, he knocked on Tuffnut's door to ask how he got along.

For Tuffnut it was helpful to listen to music while working, so he didn't react to Hiccup's knocking.  
He wouldn't have bothered either if the heir of the company came in without knocking at all.

"Hey Hiccup," Tuff beamed and threw him amorous glances, "I'm doing fine, no really! Writing an algorithm for the system was rather easy, but to find its flaws could get trickier. I'll find them, most of them, I suppose at least.  
Nice t-shirt, by the way. I like this band too," Tuff rambled and pointed at the lettering on Hiccup's t-shirt, which poked out of his partial open button placket.

"Oh, uh thanks! To be honest, I don't even know the band, my ex gave this t-shirt to me because I liked the lettering," Hiccup explained while he plucked on the fabric of his t-shirt.  
"Too bad. I highly recommend listening to their older albums. Great guitar solos and the cover artworks are awesome too. He has a good taste in music, though," Tuff smirked and winked.

"No, he was a she. I mean, she is a she. Still is. And was. Sorry, you've thrown me off my game. Why have you assumed it was a he?" Hiccup stuttered and blushed.  
Tuff felt a small sting in his heart and shrugged: "Sorry, no offense! Somehow I thought it could have been a he."  
"No. Definitely she. Do I look like I was...?" Hiccup asked and ran his hands over his torso.  
"What? No. My fault, I thought because of the band – I know more men who like this band. But as I said, I recommend listening to their album "Images And Words" from 1992. You won't regret it."

Hiccup grinned and went to the door. "I'll try to recall it. Thank you for the recommendation."  
Tuff was on cloud number nine – Hiccup would certainly love Dream Theater as much as he did. And then they would have something in common, besides the gender. 

Although was allowed to wear whatever he liked at work, Tuffnut preferred wearing shirts and clean jeans that didn't slip over his butt and revealed his comic cartoon boxers.  
The four pairs of shoes he owned (black Vans SK8-Hi, black Adidas Superstar, black Converse High Top, and black 8-hole Doc Marten's boots) now were cleaned and looked almost as good as new.  
He learned to braid his dreadlocks or make a bun to keep his hair out of his face.

Snotlout watched with amusement how Tuff got dressed every time he worked for Haddock Ltd.  
Astrid watched it too, but she felt rather uncomfortable because she knew that there was someone, Tuff wanted to be noticed by.  
"She must be a very special person, according to you dressing up to the nines," Snotlout scoffed and elbowed Astrid, who leaned casually at the wall.  
"Who said it is a she?" she blurted out, regretting it immediately.  
Her hand sped to her mouth, pressing it shut, but it was too late.

Tuff shot her an angry glare and Snotlout rose his brows: "Bro? A guy, huh? Must be even more special, as I wager?"  
Astrid blushed and hurried to get away, get away from Tuffnut and Snotlout, whose reaction was as she had assumed it before.  
Of course, he would be okay with Tuff's preferences.

In the kitchen, where Astrid had fled to, she took a soda from the fridge and opened it. She was nervous and had to keep her hands busy until Tuff was gone.  
But he just entered the kitchen and crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
"What was that? I didn't want Snotlout to know that it's about a man," he grumbled.

"Sorry, my mouth was faster than my mind. _You_ should know how that is. But what's your problem after all? Snotlout has reacted perfectly," Astrid apologized but thought that it sounded more like a reproach.  
"Snotlout likes men too and I always was afraid that it could destroy our bromance if he knew that I do too. I don't want him to flirt with me. _You_ know how _that_ is." Tuffnut tried to explain and gestured into the direction of Snotlout's room.

"Oh, you think just because you're both bisexual it will automatically attract him to you? He is hitting on _me_ , forgot?"  
"To have it away, duh!" Tuff's voice was cold. So cold that Astrid didn't recognize him for a moment. Then she hissed: "Oh, just like _you_?" and sipped from the soda.  
"For once I have thought with my dick and I never had assumed that I would regret it that much," Tuff spat and took away the can from Astrid.  
"That's mine. Bye!" With a last deadly glare, Tuff turned away and left the flat.

That hadn't gone the way Astrid had thought it would.  
Flustered she stood in the kitchen and her head felt empty.  
Her heart felt all the heavier instead.  
When Astrid sneaked back to her room, Snotlout exited his.  
"Hey Astrid, do you wanna watch a movie with me?" he asked and looked so hopefully, that Astrid couldn't deny it.

Later she sat next to Snotlout, leaned against his broad frame, and watched "Pulp Fiction" with him, inconspicuously looking at her phone now and then.  
If she was Tuff she wouldn't write a message, but Tuff once had told her that he couldn't stand conflicts, so she somehow expected him to accommodate.  
But instead of Tuff, Eret wrote her:

**Hey Astrid, r u still alive?  
Haven't heard from you in a while, is everything alr8?**

Glad about the distraction Astrid wrote back:

**Eret, sorry!  
I've been a little off the last few days.  
How r u?**

It didn't take long until her phone buzzed and she could read Eret's answer.

**I'm fine. Just glad that you haven't tried to shun me.  
How 'bout another date? I wanna get to know you better. ;-)**

Astrid thought for a moment, then she asked:

**Do you like dancing? I'd really love to go dancing.**

And Eret replied:

**Saturday night, nine pm at my place? I live only one block away from the "Stormfly". And we both tryna staying alive?**

With a giggle Astrid tapped into her phone:

**Night fever...**

"What's so funny?" Snotlout curiously asked and tried to get a glance on Astrid's phone, but she pointed at the screen, where John Travolta and Uma Thurman danced in the legendary scene, which had made the movie as popular as it was.  
"It was about dancing. From "Saturday Night" to "Night Fever" and "Staying Alive".  
Uh, Lout... did you know that Tuff also likes men?"

Snotlout paused the movie, puffed his cheeks, and exhaled.  
"I didn't exactly _know_ it. But I have assumed it. See, we tried a lot.  
To be honest, we haven't been sober then.  
Once I asked him if he had ever kissed a boy and he denied it. I hadn't either, so I asked him if he wanted to try. The next moment I had his tongue in my mouth. No, I exaggerate a little, but he didn't hesitate one moment.  
And this one time I walked in as he jacked off to really bizarre anime porn – I guess I must have been stoned, but I asked if I could join and he just patted on his place next to him on the couch and so we did it together.  
That hasn't been the only time.  
We both gave our best to focus on anything but the other, but we failed.

When he visited me at work he seemed to have an eye on Dagur.  
And as you know we joke around pretty often about sucking the other off – that resulted from one mutual masturbation session, as you called it. We have been a little drunk.  
He said something jokingly insulting and "suck my dick". I answered, "you wish". Then we talked and wanked and it _really_ sounds weird when I listen to myself, but nevermind - I also said "suck my dick" and he answered, "you wish".  
If I had been drunk enough... who knew. 

But I don't want him that way. I love him and he's my bro, I would give my last shirt for him, but I don't have a crush on him and I don't want to fuck him or him to fuck me.  
Sorry, I guess that's way too much information.  
Did _you_ know he likes men?"

"Well, he told me after his job interview that he had met a guy who he really liked. I have given away his secret and now he's angry with me," Astrid sighed and nuzzled closer to Snotlout.  
He gently stroked her arm and tried to control the trembling of his hand as he did, assuring: "He'll calm down. Tuff doesn't like arguments and needs them to be solved quickly. You'll be friends again in no time."

"Thanks, Lout! You're both the weirdest guys I've ever met. And at the same time, you're both the best friends I could ever wish for."  
Snotlout smiled and wrapped his arm around Astrid's shoulder, hoping that she wouldn't notice the speed of his heartbeat.

Although Snotlout pretty often flirted ungainly he in fact was rather shy.  
With Astrid, he seemed to go on in baby steps, but that was okay.  
He really liked her. And sometimes he thought that she could like him too.

While Snotlout secretly fell more and more for Astrid, she felt safer and safer around Snotlout. He felt like an ally to her, a steady and reliable companion in times of trouble.

Tuff spent almost no time at home anymore – he was either at the college or at work.  
Slowly he was running out of work and that made the end of this employment inevitable.  
Unhappily he realized that he hadn't gotten any further in his project to conquer Hiccup's heart.

Hiccup seemed to enjoy spending time with him; nearly every time when Tuff was working, Hiccup came in and leaned against the desk, watching Tuff's slender fingers with the knobby knuckles fly over the keyboard.  
"My work's almost done," Tuff announced and shot a glance at Hiccup.  
Hiccup shrugged and looked back at Tuff.  
"That's too bad. I really got used to having you around. You radiate immense energy."

"Duh, there's a way to take advantage of my energy even after that job. You could meet me somewhere else," Tuff bravely stated and grinned mischievously.  
"You mean like... friends?" Hiccup skeptically replied and rose a single eyebrow.  
Now uncertain Tuff cheeped: "Yeah, like friends," and gaining back his certainty he dared to add, "It's useless denying that you like hanging out with me. As soon as I close this door behind me, you kick it open with your technofoot and start vexing me. Admit it, you like me!"

Hiccup laughed and slapped Tuff's shoulder.  
"I think you're the most brazen guy I've ever met. And believe me, I have met a lot of people in my life! But yeah, you're right, I like that. At least you don't want more money for that."

"Still to come," Tuff smirked.  
"Let down your hair," Hiccup demanded out of a sudden.  
"Huh? What for?" Tuff confusedly blinked.  
I want to see how long it is," Hiccup replied and started himself to open the bun.  
Slightly shivering Tuffnut felt Hiccup's fingers glide through his dreadlocks, fingertips touching his scalp and the back of his neck.

When Hiccup was done spreading the masses of hair over Tuff's back he stepped back and looked at his work.  
"It reaches your butt almost!"  
Then he took the front section of Tuff's hair and covered his face. "Now I don't have to see your shameless grin anymore."

"I'm prevented from working. I will lodge a complaint! Let's see what your father has to say to that," Tuff beefed jokingly and reached for the phone.  
With deft fingers Hiccup brushed Tuff's dreadlocks behind his ears and – of course – touched his face several times.  
In Tuff's stomach a firework went off and his heart raced as if he just had run a marathon.

"Now you're out of words? What is it, you usually have the gift of the gab, I thought!"  
"I- I'm not used to- to being touched that gentle," Tuff admitted and gulped. That wasn't exactly true, Astrid had brushed the hair out of his face often enough, and she hadn't been rough with him either. But Hiccup's touch was tender and he didn't even seem to mean it.

"So, _friend_ , what are we going to do? Hanging out? I don't think we have quite the same interests, do we?" Hiccup sat down on Tuff's desk and crossed his legs.  
"I can tell you what _I_ like to do and you say Yes or No, maybe we find common ground. So, uh, skateboarding?"  
"No."  
"I didn't think so, to be honest. Inlineskating? Scratch that! Video games?"  
"Nope."  
"Drawing?"  
"You want to hang out and draw?"  
"Uh, no. Okay, music! Everyone likes music! Let's listen to music."  
"What music?"  
"Metal! But Rock, Punk, Gothic and Industrial is also okay."  
"No! 70s Rock?"  
"Only when I'm stoned."  
"I don't smoke pot. Or eat cookies. Haven't ever tried."  
"Ugh fine, that's all I do. Now there's only wanking left!"

Hiccup gaped at Tuff with wide eyes.  
"Did I say that loud?" Tuff mumbled and his cheeks turned bright pink.  
Then he hid behind his hair again. "Could you please pretend that I'm not here? Or that I have made a connection between brain and mouth before talking and never said that?"

Hiccup laughed uproariously and then gasped, as he wiped his eyes: "I could also pretend that you're normal, but that would be kind of boring, I guess. I have to admit that I haven't imagined hanging out with you would include mutual masturbation or whatever you had in mind. Let's spare that for our alone time, shall we?"

For a moment Tuff furrowed his brows and Hiccup asked as he noticed: "What? Something wrong with that suggestion?"  
"I have heard that before, mutual masturbation. Huh, nevermind," Tuff waved off and grinned sneakily: "I am quite adaptable, whatever you like I could try too."

Hiccup thought for a moment, then he said: " I love riding my Hayabusa. When I wanna relax I take a ride out of the city and speed over the highway. That's pure freedom. It's called Night Fury."  
"Nighty Fury? Why that?"  
"It's black and fast and sounds so furious. You can hardly see me at night when I race over the abandoned freeway with no light on...  
Okay, however, I'll take you home on Saturday after work – I saw that you have scheduled your working time also on the weekend. We could just hang out and talk. That's what friends usually do, isn't it?" Hiccup smirked.

"Doesn't sound as if you had a lot of friends," Tuff muttered.  
"I actually haven't. No time for distraction. There's always some kind of obligation."  
"Dude, you need some fun in your life! Brace yourself for a night full of fun," Tuff promised and kicked Hiccup out, "Now shoo! You distract me from working."

"How do you talk to your boss' son?" Hiccup asked playfully indignant and Tuff bluntly answered: "As I talk to everyone who isn't my boss. Get out of here and let me get my work done. Otherwise, I have to tell your dad that you're wasting his money in here!"

"See you on Saturday, cheeky subject," Hiccup laughed and slammed the door behind him.  
Tuff had to catch his breath – had that been flirty, or had it just been in his imagination?  
Thank god that it was already Thursday!


	7. Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid has a date with Eret and Tuff has something like a date with Hiccup.  
> While Astrid and Eret seem to get closer quickly, Tuff and Hiccup have to build a base for their friendship/bromance/relationship first.  
> They are both quite content with their progress after all.

On Saturday Astrid pulled out all the stops: she did a stunning make-up with waterproof mascara, painted seducing smokey eyes, and applied red lipstick.  
Her long legs were in shiny black tights, she wore a black miniskirt and a glittery shirt with a cowl neck.

"Wow, Astrid! Who do you wanna bewitch?" Tuff scoffed and entered the bathroom.  
"I'm going out. You look pretty good too. What do you want? If you have to use the toilet you'll have to wait for five more minutes, I'm not done yet," Astrid said with a look into the mirror, where she could see Tuffnut in a black shirt, sleeves rolled up.  
His slender legs looked a tad too scrawny in his skinny black jeans and with his chunky boots on his feet.  
But his appearance was nice. More than that. He looked really hot.

"No, I wanted to ask you if you could help me screwing my tunnels shut. I can't get it to work," he reached out his hand in which he held black steel tunnels.  
"Sure," Astrid shrugged.  
As she was busy fumbling with Tuff's ears she noticed a warm feeling in her tummy.  
She wanted him to be happy. Abruptly she hugged him and whispered in his ear: "You look awesome. I bet he'll fall for you and your wit. Go get him!"  
Then she went on with applying the eyeliner. "And I'm sorry for dropping this stupid remark."

"Thanks, A. I don't know with who you go out tonight, but I hope he deserves you."  
"Sounds like a curse to me," Astrid giggled and Tuff shoved her slightly.  
"You can be glad that the eyeliner isn't blurred now, otherwise I'd kick your skinny ass, muttonhead!"

Tuff clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Well, well, well, Miss lawyer, is that a threat of violence?"  
"A promise it is! Will you go to work before you go out?"  
Tuff nodded and watched how Astrid wrapped her hair around the curling iron.  
Undecidedly he faltered to stay or go, but before he finally made off Tuff announced: "I meant that I hope you're not too good for him. You are... special. And you look beautiful tonight."

"Oh Tuff, thank you," Astrid said and felt the warmth in her tummy increase. She turned around but could only see his hair - unbraided and in no bun - disappear around the door frame. Then the front door fell shut.

Usually, Astrid would walk the course to Eret's home, but with these shoes, she could almost only sit and dance, so she called an Uber to get there.  
Eret looked gorgeous in his dark purple shirt and slim black twill pants.  
He sported a bun and smelled fantastic.  
"Whoa, Astrid," he marveled, "you look amazing! Do you want to have a drink with me before we go? Or do you want to enter the fray immediately?"

Astrid decided to have a drink with Eret at his flat first.  
Eret lived in a small apartment with a bed and a closet behind a curtain, in a niche of his living room.  
His flat was stylishly furnished with a big couch in black, a table, and a wall unit in white, and a black and white carpet.  
There were several plants in different places around the flat and pillows in bright yellow.

"May I offer you a glass of wine?" Eret asked and went into a corner of the living room, where he stored his alcoholic beverages and glasses in a cupboard.  
Astrid strolled over and had a look at the bottles.  
"Actually, I'd prefer a Martini," she said and took a bottle from the cupboard.  
"Of course," Eret answered, "when you can do without the olive."

They sat down and talked until Astrid kicked the high heels from her feet and nuzzled into the cushions of Eret's couch.  
"I could use a snack. Shall I order something? I'm afraid my fridge doesn't contain anything useful to create a whole meal for two," Eret apologized and then added, "Or do you still want to go out? I mean it would be a shame to hide you in here instead of showing off with you. You really look stunning!"

Astrid cocked her head and noticed certain dizziness.  
The Martinis on an empty stomach had a strong effect on her brain too.  
"To be honest, I think I'm already too inebriated to go anywhere.  
Would you bother ordering something to eat and we stay here and eat and talk and drink and you enjoy this view all for yourself?"  
She pointed at her body and laughed.

Eret fell into her laughter and refilled Astrid's glass. "What would you like to eat, my beauty? Do you want something with proteins, sushi, pizza, tacos?"  
"Oh, something that's not that messy to eat. Sushi sounds great!"  
Eret got up and fetched the phone, then he ordered Maki, Ura-Maki, Hoso-Maki, Futo-Maki, and Nigiri.

An hour later they had the delicacies spread on the table and feasted joyfully.  
Astrid had decided to eat with her fingers because she couldn't coordinate the sticks anymore.  
While she ate, Astrid talked about what had happened within the last five months.

"Can you imagine that he had shoved me out of the bathroom?" Astrid ended her story and stuffed a Hoso-Maki into her mouth.  
"I'd love to have seen your face then," Eret chuckled, "But for now I have enough of Snotlout and Tuffnut anecdotes. They are whackos, especially Tuffnut. Don't get me wrong, I like Snotlout, he's a very skillful colleague, but I guess I couldn't live with him. Not to mention the other dimwit."

A queasy feeling took a grip of Astrid. Was she hurt because Eret had insulted her flatmates? _Had_ he insulted her flatmates? _Was_ Tuffnut actually a dimwit?  
Slowly she chewed and swallowed.  
Suddenly Eret's face was close to hers.  
"There's Wasabi on your lip," he breathed and closed the remaining distance.

Eret sucked on her upper lip and then kissed Astrid very gently.  
"Mh, hot," he stated.  
Flustered Astrid replied: "That's the nature of Wasabi!"  
"I didn't mean the Wasabi," Eret grinned and kissed her again.  
Determined she shoved away all sinking feelings and uneasy thoughts and leaned into the kiss.  
Eret's lips felt firm at her's and Astrid noticed that he kissed completely different than Hiccup. But also completely different than Tuffnut.

Wait, she wouldn't start comparing Eret to Tuffnut, would she?  
Ban Tuffnut from your mind, she commanded herself, get rid of him! It had been an accident, just an accident!  
Damn, he had to get out of her thoughts!

Astrid backed away and looked at Eret:  
He was all man, sitting calmly in front of her, his body in control – no suspicious bulges emerging beneath the waistline.  
With a shake of her head, Astrid snorted amusedly as she recalled Tuff having a boner just because of the thought of climbing into the tub to shower with her.  
Geesh, he was such a big baby boy.

But she really had to stop thinking about him!  
"What's so funny?" Eret asked and stroked Astrid's face.  
She nuzzled her cheek into Eret's calloused palm and felt his physical strength – there was nothing boyish about him.

"This night had turned out quite different than I thought it would," Astrid mumbled and leaned forward to meet Eret's lips again.  
He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, putting his hands on her back, politely waiting for Astrid to initiate the next step.  
She sled even closer laid her left leg over Eret's thigh and inhaled his odor, a nuance of honey and herbs, sweet, spicy, and very male.

A tingly sensation spread between Astrid's legs and she had to get hold of herself: Eret was no guy she could mount willy-nilly!  
He had style and didn't seem to want to take advantage of her current state.  
As she intensified the kiss, Eret withdrew from her.  
He looked at her, exploring and caring.  
"I had a wonderful night, and I'm very glad that it had turned out that way," he claimed and pulled Astrid into an embrace so that he could place his chin on her head.

Eret stroked Astrid's arms and she leaned against his broad chest.  
After minutes she snored and drooled onto his shirt.  
Without waking her up Eret moved out of this embrace and laid Astrid down onto the cushion.  
Then he fetched a blanket and covered her, pressing a tender kiss on her forehead.  
"Good night, little lady," he whispered and went to bed too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

After work Hiccup knocked on the door of Tuff's office.  
"You're done? Ready for having a good night?"  
Tuff's heart skipped a beat and then set in pounding a tad faster than before when he heard Hiccup's voice.  
"Ready," he said and got up from his chair. In fact, had he been ready for the last thirty minutes and only waited for Hiccup to show up.

Happily, he followed Hiccup into the underground car park, where the future boss of Haddock Ltd. led him to a black Ford Mustang.  
"May I request?" Hiccup said and opened the door for Tuff.  
Tuff laughed and curtsied.  
Full of astonishment he watched Hiccup steer the car home to his apartment out of town.

When Hiccup had parked his car in another underground car park, they took the elevator to the lobby.  
"Hey Gobber, any mail for me?" Hiccup greeted the doorman.  
"No, Master Haddock! Do you stick to your order, light supper? I'd call chef Johann to deliver it now and send it up as soon as possible," the older man in a black suit asked politely.

It made Tuff feel underdressed and out of place.  
Hiccup shook his head and responded: "Perfect. Thanks, Gobber. Also, this is my friend, Mr. Thorston. He may come and go as he wishes," Hiccup announced and Tuff realized, that he wouldn't have been able to go further than into the entrance hall at all without this invitation.  
"Very well, Master Haddock," Gobber replied and scanned Tuffnut's appearance.  
Uncomfortably Tuff shifted from one foot to the other, although this Mister Gobber seemed to be good-natured and kind of fatherly.

Tuffnut followed Hiccup to another elevator and exhaled soundly when the doors shut.  
"Exhausting, huh?" Hiccup scoffed and slightly elbowed Tuff.  
"Sorry, I'm not used to something like that. I live in an old house on the fourth floor with two flatmates, of which one is a neurotic fitness freak and the other thinks he has to remind me of everything. Don't forget to eat healthily, take your meds, pay that bill... as if I was a child. But actually, they are like family to me. When I come home I don't hear "Good night, Master Thorston, I'll send you a hot soup and a well-groomed yak", but "have you eaten my yogurt, muttonhead?" That's quite a difference!"

Hiccup laughed: "Muttonhead? Sounds familiar to me! That's what my father calls me, when I have ideas he can't do anything with. And one of my friends had adopted it into their speech."  
Tuff wasn't in the mood to go further into detail about that uncommon insult.  
Instead, he looked stealthily into the mirror in front of him and watched Hiccup, who searched his bag for his keys.

Hiccup, the lanky one with intentionally messy hair, with a dark green shirt, which Tuff couldn't probably even afford with the wages of a month.  
His leather bag was most likely more worth than Tuff's entire furniture.  
In the dim light of the elevator, his pale and freckled skin made him look like a very expensively dressed teenager.

Next to Hiccup, almost the same height, also lanky, he saw himself, the opposite of his host for tonight: long blonde hair in over sixty dreadlocks, pierced ears, and flesh tunnels in his lobes, shirt and jeans clean but cheap, a ripped army bag with self baked weed cookies over his right shoulder.  
The most expensive on him were his boots.

Even Hiccup's straight teeth looked like a small capital investment, while Tuffnut's teeth, treated with braces for several years, hadn't ever seemed to want to grow straight at all.  
But freckles were something also Tuffnut could provide.  
Sheepishly he tried to see more than the hardly grown-up man.  
Nevertheless, he asked himself, why someone like Horace "Hiccup" Haddock III should be interested in a comparatively ugly weirdo like him.

The elevator opened its doors with a buzzing sound and Hiccup led Tuff to a door, the only door on that floor.  
"That's the penthouse. Up here is only my apartment and a rooftop terrace. Welcome to my home," Hiccup welcomed Tuff and let him enter the foyer.  
"Okay, this foyer is bigger than my room. Now you'll have to explain, where all the doors lead to. Which one is the one to Narnia?" Tuff smirked and untied the strings of his boots.

"You could have left them on. I don't want you to get cold feet," Hiccup mentioned and brought his bag into his office.  
"And forego the fun of gliding across the floor? Never," Tuff laughed, took off, and slid across the polished parquet floor.  
He braked in the middle of the room and looked around.  
"So, where can I find what? Where am I allowed to go? Where are the hidden trapdoors, behind which door is a self-launching system to keep your treasures safe?"

Hiccup laughed and took Tuff by the elbow. "Come with me," he sniggered and showed Tuff around.  
Through a round arch, they arrived in a big kitchen with a long table and several upholstered chairs.

Then Hiccup showed his minibar and home cinema, his bathroom with tub, his bathroom with waterfall shower and sauna, and his sleeping room.  
"That's it. My grandfather has filed several patent applications which would guarantee an unrivaled market position.  
Intangible assets include patents and trade names.  
Our company also holds many stocks of traditional and ascendant companies.  
We own more money than we can ever spend. That's why I can enjoy the luxury of living in a penthouse like that."

The doorbell rang and Johann delivered the light supper.  
"Thank you, Johann, would you bring it to the kitchen, please? Come on, Tuff! Let's have a bite."  
Tuff, still gaping at the screen with a picture diagonal of 98", was daydreaming about gaming on that screen.  
With a dreamy voice, he mumbled: "I'll bring my PS next time, and if you like gaming or not, I'll force you and I bet my ass you'll enjoy it to the max!"

When Tuff came into the kitchen, the table was filled with canapés with smoked salmon, cream cheese, different herbs and shrimps, creams of seafood, cheese, fruits, a creamy dessert, and a pot with steaming, wonderfully scented soup.  
"Who else is still supposed to show up?" Tuff asked jokingly, as he saw the masses of food.

"I hope you'll like it. You said you were vegetarian, but you eat fish. So I thought I should offer something fishy then. What do you want to drink, white wine?"  
Hiccup took two glasses from a cupboard, but Tuff shook his head.  
"Nope, sorry. I don't drink wine at all. Do you have soda?"  
"So-? Are you sure? Wait for a second," Hiccup replied and confusedly looked into his beverage fridge.  
"I could offer ginger ale," Hiccup shrugged, but Tuff waved off.  
"Doesn't matter, gimme water instead."  
"No, I want you to feel good. Let me fix this," Hiccup insisted, took the phone, and called Gobber.  
"Yeah, Haddock here. Could you order cooled soda, please? - I don't know, like orange, lemon, grapefruit. - Yes, and add some coke and Dr. Pepper. As soon as possible."

Uncomprehending, Tuff glared at Hiccup, but the other one just offered a chair and said: "Your drinks will be here in no time. Gobber is a miracle when it's about fulfilling wishes. Take a plate, have whatever you like."  
Tuff sat down and hesitantly took a plate.  
"Aren't you hungry?" Hiccup wanted to know as he put each one of every kind of canapé on his plate.

"I'm always hungry! Sorry, I don't know how to eat it. Do I have to use cutlery? Is there a certain order? I'm used to plain fare, you know? Sorry, I'm overwhelmed."

Hiccup shot Tuff an amused look and bit into his canapé.  
"Just put it into your mouth. I guess you eat soup with a spoon where you come from?"  
"Stop making fun of me. You can't imagine how poor my family is. There hadn't been such things- "  
"Like spoons?" Hiccup mocked and Tuff rolled his eyes.  
"Yeah, like spoons. We put a straw into the pot and slurp it directly out of it. Then we fight who gets the veggies. We all wear gloves made of disemboweled rats, that we shoot from our rocking chairs on the front porch.  
Seriously, I'm poor, not a hillbilly. I meant that there hadn't been such things like fancy finger-food."

Hiccup nodded and muttered: "I didn't want to insult you. I'm sorry if I did. I was being sarcastic."  
Tuff glared at Hiccup, took a trowel of soup, and filled his bowl.  
Then he took the bowl and drank the soup.  
Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Tuff sighed and announced: "That was a fuckin' hell of a brew, Bobby Joe! Could easily spit out the raccoon claws through my tooth gaps. Now gimme the home-distilled booze, yeah?"

First Hiccup looked at Tuff with a flabbergasted expression. Then he started laughing.  
He laughed until his belly hurt and he had to get up because the doorbell rang and a delivery boy brought the required beverages.  
Hiccup gave him a tip and tried to suppress further laughter.

When he came back with a box full of cool drinks for Tuff, he put the bottles and cans into his fridge.  
"You may take whatever you want!"  
Tuff got up and marveled at the selection.  
Then he grabbed several cans and took them to his place.

"No kidding, the soup is delicious. Sorry for my joke, I have pretty bad taste in that. Also, there live two hillbillies with me, so it's rather hard to lift up the standard," Tuff winked and Hiccup looked at him with an impenetrable gaze. "Is that so?"  
"To be honest, I am the problematic one. I really try to give my best. I take my meds and so on. But often enough my mouth is faster than my mind and I say or do things that I might regret later.  
Such as making fun of the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life."

"I guess I have exactly the right drink for you. Wait a moment!"  
While Hiccup got up and looked for a certain bottle, Tuff shoveled several of the canapés onto his plate.  
When would he get food like that again?  
It was all extraordinarily tasty and Tuff appreciated every bit of it.

Hiccup came back with a bottle of Jack Daniel's.  
"Someone gave it to me. I forgot who it was, but I won't ever drink that plonk! But a hillbilly like you might consider it a noble drop."  
"Oh, now I have a use for the ginger ale you offered earlier," Tuff smirked and grabbed the bottle.

"You don't have to drink that. I was joking. Let's have a good, I mean, a _real_ good Scotch or Irish Whisky after supper."  
"Fine. But you don't want to smoke cigars and talk about literature, do you?"  
Hiccup cocked his head and furrowed his brows. "How old do you think I am? No, I want to smoke cigars and talk about shoe insoles."  
Tuff jumped up and almost tipped his chair over. "I forgot, I have to scratch my flatmate's back, have to leave!"

Hiccup laughed again and reached out for Tuff's wrist.  
"Don't you dare to go away. You promised a night full of fun," Hiccup grinned and winked.  
Tuff's heart jumped and he replied: "Obviously you're having fun. You already laughed three times."  
"I want more."  
"Greedy!" Tuff sat down again and continued enjoying his meal.

"What kind of soda is that?" Hiccup inquired and pointed at a pink can in front of Tuff.  
"I don't know, I haven't tried," Tuff said, took the can, and tapped his finger on the lid.  
He opened the can and sniffed.  
"Smells like the contents of the chemistry box I owned when I was twelve."  
"Let me have a sip," Hiccup demanded and took a gulp.  
He shuddered and handed Tuff the can.  
"Here you are! Don't worry, I won't drink it up!"

Tuff tried too and emptied the can.  
"Could be kind of a berry mix. Not good, not too bad either."  
"Ugh, how can you bring that down?"  
"Uh, by swallowing? It makes me belch. My mates and I have competitions sometimes."  
"Wow, how old are _you_ , still twelve?" Hiccup chuckled and took a sip of his wine.  
"Yep, for nine years now. Loosen your corset, dude. Fun doesn't have to make sense." Tuff opened the next can, a simple cream soda, and passed it to Hiccup.  
"Drink."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and drank.  
"Now feel the bubbles. Keep it down. Gather the gas. Then let go. You can do it," Tuff instructed.  
"That's childish," Hiccup complained but drank anyway.  
"Yeah, I know. How cool is that? No one judges you. Be the child you always wanted to be. Responsibility? Pffft, that can wait until Monday. Tonight we're gonna drink and eat and curse and use slang. I wanna hear you say "fuck" for at least once in an hour." 

After supper Hiccup took a bottle from the cupboard.  
"It's a Macallan, 15 years old Double Cask. Listen! Aroma: dried fruits, plus toffee and vanilla, soft spicy oak, and baked apples - over all light aromas of honey and chocolate.  
Taste: sweet sultanas, with vanilla, spicy oak, and citrus again.  
Finish: warm and creamy in the finish with ginger, caramel, and citrus fruits.  
Wanna try, Billy Ray?"

"Sure, Bobby Joe! Although I'm pretty sure that it will taste like Whisky to me. It's like casting pearls before swine."  
Tuff tasted the expensive and exclusive Whisky, but as he had foreseen, he just tasted alcohol.  
"I'll better drink the hillbilly brew. With ginger ale. Getting drunk doesn't have to be such a waste of money. Well, and if, it's at least no waste of time for me."  
"Spending time with _you_ isn't a waste of time _at all_ ," Hiccup replied and Tuff blushed.

Together the young men slid over the floor – on socks, on the belly, and on the butt (didn't work), tried to hit the other's mouth with grapes, burped the alphabet, and ate the dessert with soup spoons.  
They competed over the best curses and insults they knew (Hiccup won with "braindead product of an assfucked pimplewhore", but they laughed the most about Tuff's "fuck you you fuckin' fuck")  
At some point they were laying on each side of the couch, their legs placed on the back cushions, head hanging down from the seat.

"I'm so full," Hiccup stated and burped. "Fuck, I guess I threw up a little," he added and giggled.  
"Eeew," made Tuff and wrinkled his nose. "I'm so drunk," he said and sighed delightfully.  
"I am tired," Hiccup yawned.  
"I have to piss," Tuff answered. "If I should ever be able to get up from that couch again, which bathroom may I use?"  
"Choose one for yourself. But please spare the sleeping room, I'm too wasted to change the sheets."

Laboriously Tuff got up from the couch and staggered into the direction of a door he thought a toilet was hidden behind.  
"Is that the right door?" he asked and opened. "Jackpot. Oh my gosh, a pissoir! May I use it?"  
"What do you think it's installed for? Certainly not for frying eggs," Hiccup shouted over.  
"One of my flatmates hates when I piss while standing, it's too noisy, she says. Oh, I need a pissoir too.  
Have I already told that she recorded the time I need to -"

But Hiccup interrupted Tuff: "Do you ever stop talking? I mean, do you always talk so much when you use the bathroom?"  
"You should rather ask if I always talk so much, and the answer is Yes. I guess I'm up for too long and the meds lose their effect. Time to go sleeping.  
Have you thought about how I get back to my bike again?"

"Nah, you'll sleep here with me. Choose if you want to sleep on the couch or in my bed, I don't care."  
"But I didn't bring a toothbrush. And I have no t-shirt to sleep in. Unless you want me to sleep naked. I can do with that, no problem. I'm also house-trained."

"What can I do to mute you? How do I get you silent?" Hiccup laughed and got up from the couch too, strolling over to the only half-shut door.  
"That's easy. Feed me. Or kiss me," Tuff smirked and winked, then he bit his bottom lip and felt his dick twitch in his hand.  
Good that he was done and could hide his growing manhood within his jeans.

Hiccup, who had peeked through the door gap, came in when Tuff washed his hands. "Here are new toothbrushes," he said and showed Tuff his supply in a cabinet behind the door.

"And here's a shirt you can use to sleep in." Hiccup handed Tuff the "Dream Theater" shirt.  
"But you said it's from your ex. Doesn't it have sentimental value?" Tuff asked, but Hiccup shrugged and commanded: "Arms up!"  
Then he pulled the t-shirt over Tuff's stretched arms and his head.  
Topless, Tuff looked from the t-shirt to Hiccup.  
"You can keep it. I don't even know the band. And as far as I'm concerned, she won't ever get to know that I haven't kept it."

About half an hour later Tuff laid next to Hiccup.  
The bed was bigger than average, but no king-size bed.  
"Are you comfortable? Do have everything you need?" Hiccup wanted to know and nuzzled into his pillow.  
Tuff didn't dare to move or talk, his heart beat so fast that he was afraid Hiccup could be able to see the pounding in his ribcage.

"Yeah, fine," he squeaked and swallowed.  
"Good night then, Billy Ray," Hiccup smirked and turned to the other side, switching off the light on his nightstand.  
"Good night, Bobby Joe," Tuff replied and couldn't close his eyes, although he was so tired, that his body started to tremble.

Hiccup noticed the shivering of his bedmate and turned around again.  
"Are you okay?" he asked softly.  
Tuff nodded, forgetting, that it was dark and Hiccup couldn't see him.  
"Are you cold? Shall I get you another blanket?"  
"No, don't bother, I'm okay. Just a little too tired and too inflamed to find sleep.  
I'll fall asleep in no time," Tuff replied and at least that wasn't a lie.

"Come here, I'll spoon you from behind, then you'll be less cold and shivery. "  
Without waiting for an answer Hiccup wrapped his arm around Tuff and pulled him close.  
And while Hiccup drifted into a deep sleep and snored softly at Tuff's ear, Tuff couldn't get any sleep.  
He was too excited from feeling the steady breathing at his neck, the warmth of Hiccup's body, and the closeness of Hiccup's crotch to his butt.

After about an hour Tuff got carefully up again.  
His stomach was turning and he had to use the bathroom again.  
Hiccup shifted to the other side and made buzzing noises in his sleep.  
Tuff smiled and already imagined how it would feel to spoon Hiccup when he came back.  
But now he really had to go to the bathroom.

Quietly he shuffled through the darkness of the strange penthouse and randomly opened one door after the other until he finally found the facility he needed.  
While Tuff was busy he looked around and saw a huge bathtub with whirlpool jets.  
How it must feel to sit in it... in hot water... on Hiccup's lap...  
Damn imagination, Tuff scolded himself.

When he was done, Tuff sneaked back into the bed, that smelled so different to his own, to the young man, who lived a life so different to his own and curled up to the warm body, that was so much like his own.  
"Is that a flashlight or are you happy to be in bed with me again?" Hiccup mumbled drowsily.  
"Uh, pure happiness. Nighty night," Tuff quickly replied and hoped that Hiccup would take it for a joke.  
When Hiccup didn't react Tuff assumed that he had already fallen asleep again.  
So he closed his eyes, focused on his own breathing, and finally fell asleep too.

Tuff woke up due to a noise that reminded him of Astrid.  
Hiccup was in the kitchen and extracted the juice from felt one hundred oranges.  
Yawning, Tuff stretched and noticed, that he must have kicked away the blanket. Uncovered he laid in the bed, the unmistakable tent in his boxers couldn't be missed.

With a quick move, Tuff grabbed a large black plushie from the headboard, covered his crotch, and tried to sneak out of the sleeping room as secretly as possible.  
Of course, it wouldn't work.  
"Hey there, where you going with Toothless?" Hiccup asked and pointed at the plushie with the knife in his hand.  
"With who?"  
"My dragon. Are you kidnapping it? Are you trying to smuggle something out of the apartment?"  
"No, actually I was trying to smuggle my morning wood out of your sight," Tuff shrugged and went ahead.  
"You call a spade a spade, don't you?"  
"Sorry, I wanted to say that I was trying to hide the result of an apparently well working vegetative nervous system."

Hiccup shook his head, rolled his eyes, and chuckled. "You're truly unique, Tuff. I guess you're as hungover as I am, so I thought we'll help our brains out with vitamin c and water and I'll bring you to your bike later. It must feel quite abandoned and sad."  
"Don't bother, it has slept in worse places than under the canopy of your company. But thank you for worrying about it."

Later, Tuff drank his orange juice and tried to ignore the throbbing headache behind his forehead.  
"Holy crap, my head explodes," he stated and rubbed his eyes.  
Hiccup grinned maliciously and answered: "No wonder, you drank almost the entire bottle of that dreadful hillbilly plonk!"

Tuff groaned and laid his head on the table.  
"You left the amount of about one glass in it," Hiccup said as he reached behind to grab the bottle from the kitchen counter and inspected it.  
"For the case that I was allowed to come back. I could still drink it then. Just fill it up with ginger ale and put it on ice. Oh, and I have brought space cookies. You said you've never been high and I thought that you should urgently change that."

With a smirk, he took the box with his cookies from his backpack and stuffed it into Hiccup's cupboard.  
"But don't eat them alone, you should have someone around you. And who could be better suited for this job than me, a habitual part-time pothead?"

Hiccup laughed and pulled the box from the cupboard again.  
He opened the lid and sniffed.  
"Are you trying to seduce me to commit a crime?"  
"Is having fun a crime? Then yeah, totally."  
Hiccup shoved the box into the cupboard and closed the door.  
"Next weekend? I'm too busy before and I guess you'll be busy with college and work, too."  
"My sister has a bout next weekend and I promised to be there.  
Hey, you could come with me! Just in case you like strong women on roller skates with bloody noses," Tuff suggested.

Helplessly Hiccup shrugged and shook his head, but then he said yes.  
"Awesome! Now get me to my tredder, so I can ride home, take a shower, have a good spew and take a nap until tomorrow." Tuff got up from his seat and took his phone.  
"Gimme your number, I want to annoy you later with how bad I'm feeling."  
After exchanging their numbers, Hiccup brought Tuff to his bike.  
They said goodbye with a hug, cheeks brushing at each other for a split-second.  
"That was fun, thank you, Tuff," Hiccup whispered and smiled brightly.  
Tuff swallowed and tried to sound casual when he replied: "Yeah, it was. Thank you for the invitation."

They looked at each other's eyes for a moment too long and parted with an embarrassed giggle.  
"See you at work," Tuff said and shut the door of Hiccup's Mustang.

At home, Tuff had a hot shower, his usual meds, and an aspirin.  
With a big glass of water, he dropped onto the couch, where he met Astrid with a cold pack on her forehead.  
"Don't make so much noise," she demanded.  
"I have just sat down," Tuff growled.  
"Don't yell at me," Astrid groused and sat up.  
Tuff laughed and regretted it immediately. He massaged his temples and asked: "Has he brought you home?"  
"Yep," Astrid replied.  
"Has he made you breakfast at least before he kicked you out?"  
"Uh-huh. And yours?"  
"Orange juice."  
"Mine too."

"Have you muttonheads had sex at least?" Snotlout interrupted amusedly.  
"No," Astrid and Tuff grumbled at the same time and moaned.  
"Pathetic," Snotlout announced, then he went away to not give away the content grin on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Astrid and Eret, I'm so sorry that you didn't get the love you certainly deserve in this chapter.  
> To be honest, it's because of Eret: although I love him, he stays like a stranger to me.


	8. Bonding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid deepens her bond with her flatmates, but also with Eret.  
> Tuffnut finally gets closer to Hiccup when he takes him to a so-called bout, a Roller Derby match of his sister.  
> This could be the Happy End we all waited for, couldn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course it's _not_ the Happy End. It's not the end at all!

**"How's your head? I hope you hadn't had to throw up. X-P"** Eret wrote on Monday.

 **"Haha, no! Tuffnut and I have together died and cured our hangover on the couch.  
Although I don't know if Tuffnut has puked. At least he has cried a little. Dork!  
How come you didn't feel that bad?"** Astrid replied and felt a comfortable tingle in her belly.

 **"I weigh twice as much as you do and I drank only half the amount you had! But don't bother, I thought it was very sweet when you fell asleep in my arms."** Eret scoffed and sent a winking emoji.

 **"Oh dear, I hope I haven't left the worst impression. I guess I owe you a new date, don't I?"** Astrid felt slightly embarrassed when she sent her message. Good, that Eret couldn't see her blush.

 **"You don't owe me anything, sweetie! Of course, I'd be glad to meet you again. But only, if you really want to."** The humble response came immediately.

 **"Saturday, same time, same place, same plans, different performance?"** Astrid suggested.

**"I'm in! Very looking forward to seeing you again! :-*"**

Okay, that was done! Now Astrid had to get through the week.  
She could hardly focus on her studies.  
When she gave classes at the gym, what she usually enjoyed a lot, she could barely wait to get home, get a hot shower, eat a snack, and text with Eret.  
Secretly she always hoped to meet Tuff, so that they could enthuse about their crushes together.

She loved it to help him dress and to hear his opinion on her outfit.  
Although she would never have chosen certain combinations of clothes, she felt pretty good in Tuff's outfit suggestions.  
But this week he was at college, visited his mom, and was at work.  
Disappointed, Astrid dropped on the couch and sighed.

Unfocused, Astrid zapped through the tv channels, until she heard the front door open.  
Only a little later Snotlout entered and rose his brows.  
"Astrid? Didn't expect you to hang out alone here. Usually, you stick your nose into books at this time of the day. Are you alright?"  
He sat down next to her.

"Yeah," Astrid replied stretched, "But I can't focus. My thoughts are already on Saturday. What if-"  
Astrid interrupted herself, as the thought of an enamored Snotlout popped up in her mind. She couldn't talk to him about that, not, if he really felt for her, what Tuff had stated.  
"Doesn't matter."  
"Does too. Come on, what did you wanna say?" he encouraged and gently slapped her leg.

"Okay, uh, I'll meet this guy again," Astrid began and noticed, that Snotlout's facial expression changed – only hardly noticeable, but enough to recognize the torture behind his smile.  
Now she had made this step, there was no turning back.  
"Well, and I don't know how I feel about him. I really like him. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for... you know. The next level. "

Snotlout nodded and took Astrid's hand. "You know, Astrid – if _I_ was that guy, I would give you any time you need. And if you're not ready for level two, or three, or a house with a fence and a dog and kids, I would wait. He should too. At least if he's a decent man."  
He squeezed her hand and got up from the couch, giving her a soft but sad smile, before he left.

Crap, she had hurt him, Astrid thought! But what was she supposed to do? Live like a nun as long as she lived in this community? She hadn't signed a clause to live celibately here, and she wouldn't bring anyone home, who would sing Spanish soap opera themes during sex.  
Snotlout had never confessed his feelings for her, so why did she feel so bad for meeting someone else?

Where had the Astrid gone, who always had been straight and focused? Where had the person gone whose credo was "business before pleasure"?  
She shook her head and tried to get rid of these haunting thoughts.  
Astrid couldn't even figure out if she was happy or unhappy about her development.

Later in the night, Astrid woke up from clattering glass.  
Dumbfounded she startled awake and looked around – she had fallen asleep on the couch.  
Tuff was cursing in the kitchen.  
Astrid got up and strolled over to have a look, what in the name of any known god he was doing there.  
The view wasn't what she had expected:

The fridge was open, it was dark except for the light from the fridge, Tuff was nowhere to be seen and it smelled like... like _blood_?!  
"Tuff?" Astrid asked and switched the light on.  
"Tuff," she yelled, as she saw him lying on the floor, curled up to a ball, bleeding from a wound on his head, a broken glass next to him.

Carefully she reached over him and shut the fridge.  
Then she crouched next to him. "Are you okay?"  
Astrid felt stupid right the second the question had left her mouth, but she needed to know if Tuff was conscious.  
Instantly Tuff started sobbing and pitifully replied: "I'm not okay! I hate this day! That rhymes, but it doesn't matter!"

Astrid helped him sitting up and Tuff leaned against the cupboard.  
There was an oozing cut above his right eyebrow and blood ran over his face.  
The sight of him was shocking.  
Rigorously Astrid yanked a cloth from the counter and pressed it at Tuff's wound. He winced but let Astrid go on with her first aid.

"What has happened?" she calmly asked and stroked Tuff's back, only now realizing, that he was wet and both were sitting in a puddle.  
"Is that-? Have you...?"  
"Apple juice," Tuff cried and trembled with distress.  
"I came home and needed something to drink. But I had no time to buy soda, so I wanted to have a glass of your organic-healthy-antioxidant apple juice. I even took a glass instead of drinking out of the bottle!  
I took the bottle and placed it here, then I took a glass and then I pushed the bottle from the counter with my elbow and the lid was already open and the juice ran out and I bent down to get the bottle up and I was too fast and hit the glass with my forehead and it broke and I guess it must have had a crack before.  
The glass cut my forehead and fell to the ground and I had blood in the eye and... _fuck_!"

"Too much at once?" Astrid asked and Tuff nodded.  
He tried to get up and took the kitchen roll to pick up the shards from the juice puddle.  
"Let me do it. You're drenched and sticky and should have a relaxing bath," Astrid said, took the kitchen roll, a dustpan and a hand brush, and knelt to fix the mess.

Tuff had just picked the bottom of the glass when Astrid cut her finger.  
With her finger stuck in the mouth, she cursed muffledly and sucked the blood away.  
"Great, now you're hurt because of me, I'm so sorry!" Tuff was upset and agitated and clenched his fingers around the broken glass, not noticing that he hurt himself.  
"No, it's okay! Really, calm down," Astrid tried to soothe him, but with an exasperated yell he hurled the glass at the wall: "I don't want to calm down! I'm useless and unable to pull something off, just like my father!"

Bloody shards covered the kitchen counter and Astrid was at a loss of words.  
Disregarding the mess she pulled Tuff into an embrace and let him cry until he boneless slumped against the kitchen counter.  
After a moment of silence, Tuff started talking about what was going on in his head.

"My mom told me that after our birth our father had to announce our arrival at the registry office. He was so drunk, that he has filled in the registration papers incorrectly. _I_ was supposed to be called Eugene after his grandpa and _Ruff_ was supposed to be called LaVerne, after his grandma. My mom rushed to the office as soon as she could after her release from the hospital, but it was too late! 

My dad left us very soon after our birth. Too much work, too little patience, too much responsibility, too little money... I haven't seen him for fifteen years. Maybe he's even dead, I don't know and I don't care! And the one who has cared tirelessly for me and Ruff all our life now goes to rack and ruin! It's not fair! I can't stand seeing her that way! I am too weak! I don't want to be like him!"

Astrid softly shoved Tuff out of the kitchen and led him to the bathroom.  
She turned on the hot water and let Tuff sit down on the brim of the tub.  
Although she knew that Snotlout had to work the next day she rushed over to his room and knocked.  
Without waiting for an answer she entered and shook his sleeping form gently.

Snotlout turned around and blinked. Astrid wondered, how someone could sleep so soundly while his flatmate was having a nervous breakdown in the room next door.  
"I need your help," Astrid stated and pulled Snotlout up.  
"Okay, okay! What's the matter?"

She dragged him into the bathroom, where Tuff still sat on the tub, blood dripping from his hand and dried blood encrusting his face and hair.  
"Oh fuck!" Snotlout's reaction made Astrid smile bitterly.  
"Yep, that pretty much sums it up," she hissed through gritted teeth.  
"You can choose: clean the kitchen or clean the wreck."

Snotlout's stomach revolted by the view and smell of blood, so he decided to clean the kitchen.  
"There's also blood in the kitchen. You know what? You clean everything except the blood, I'll care for that."  
Snotlout nodded gratefully and went to work.

"Let me have a look at your hand," Astrid demanded and took Tuff's hand to look for shards.  
"Some cuts, but no shards stuck in your skin. Lucky you. Undress and get into the tub."  
Tuff obeyed wordlessly and took off his wet and sticky shirt.  
When he tugged the clammy jeans and boxers off his skin, Astrid turned around to give him some privacy.  
She heard how Tuff got into the water and sat down with a sigh.

Gathering his hair, Astrid hung it over the brim of the tub to keep it dry – god knew it would take hours to get it dry again.  
Seeing him devastated like that made Astrid's heart wrench.  
He couldn't even meet her eyes.  
Astrid knelt next to the tub, dipped a cloth into the water, and started cleaning Tuff's face and single strands of his hair.  
The cut wasn't deep, but head wounds used to bleed all the more, she knew.

"Is your mom revealing dirty secrets she doesn't want to take to the grave?" Astrid dared to ask.  
Tuff shrugged and inhaled tormentedly.  
"Apparently," he answered after a while, "She said she had been ashamed. She didn't want to be the wife of a drunkard, who even messed up his children's names. She tried to be proud and to keep her dignity.  
As I told you once, Ruff was called Gene or Ginny. But no one could make her call me Vern or something similar. 

And very quickly they called me a tough nut, due to my personality. The definition of a tough nut is a person, thing, situation, or problem that is particularly difficult to understand, solve, or deal with. I destroyed a lot and couldn't sit still or listen, I was irritable, unfocused, and screamed a lot.  
The world was too much for me, but at the same time, I was bored and understimulated when it was silent.

We found out that I needed exercise, movement, training and medication at last. Also, rough touches helped me getting back on earth.  
Ruff was happy about that, as you might imagine. She was allowed to punch me, to choke me, to bite me... but she had to learn to put up with me too.  
Once I was on the loose you could hardly hold me back again.  
Oh, I beat the shit out of my sister several times. But Ruff is so much stronger than I am and she fights with sense! She always finds your weak spot and uses it against you." Tuff rose his uninjured hand and pointed to his crotch.

"My mom thought I was autistic, the educators in kindergarten thought I was disabled or disturbed, but our pediatrician diagnosed me with ADHD when I was six, so I could go to a common school and hadn't to go to a special school for children with disabilities. I may not be the brightest, but my IQ is average at least. Well, it became way easier for us all when I was on Ritalin."

"And your mom told you all this today?" Astrid asked and waved her hand through the water.  
"Only the story of our messed up names. I don't know why I told you that, maybe you also don't want to know. I just thought, you... I don't know. I wanted you to know. Now I said "know" pretty often."

Thoughtlessly Astrid stroked Tuff's face and he nuzzled into her palm.  
"I'm sorry that I lost control," he muttered and Astrid snorted.  
"The situation you're going through is emotionally challenging. I guess that even someone _without_ ADHD would lose control under these circumstances.  
By the way, I should help Snotlout wiping away your blood before he pukes into the kitchen."

With these words, Astrid left Tuff to himself.  
Snotlout was done cleaning the kitchen, he had also removed the bloodstains from the floor.  
"You could have left that for me," Astrid said and dropped onto a chair.  
"It's okay. I just have trouble seeing bloody wounds. When it's a gaping gash... It's the flesh and the blood. Blood alone on the floor isn't a big deal.  
Thank you for being there for him. Good to have you around."

"He has just stopped bleeding. I'll have a look at his wound, maybe he needs to be sewn with some stitches." Astrid got up again, but Snotlout pushed her back onto the chair.  
"You've been in action all the time. Let me bring you a glass of water at least. Tuffnut won't drown in the next five minutes. He's a grown-up man."

"Why doesn't it feel like that to me?" Astrid huffed and propped her head into her hand.  
"Because you care about him. And, admittedly, he often enough doesn't behave like a grown-up man. Just... just don't underestimate him anyway."  
"You were the one who said he would care for his survival. Don't you underestimate him as well, then?" 

Snotlout was silent for several moments.  
"To be honest, I think he gets along pretty good on his own. It seems that it's me who needs him. You know, if he moved out, no one would need me anymore. I guess I'm not ready yet for that."  
"Well, I can assure you that Tuff seems to be so comfortable around you that he doesn't plan to move anywhere the next time. And besides – everyone needs a friend, don't they?"

Astrid took the offered glass of water, then she headed to the bathroom.  
Tuff had fallen asleep in the tub and snored softly.  
"Hey, Tuff. Time to go to bed. Come on, get up." Astrid caressed his forehead and he drowsily opened his eyes.  
"Sorry, must have been a bit tired," Tuff murmured and got up.  
"Oh, uh, let me get you a towel!" Blushing, Astrid turned around quickly and grabbed a towel from the hook.  
"Here you are. I'll go to bed. Don't hesitate to knock if you need something."

"I just need to say thank you," Tuff mumbled into Astrid's hair, as he pulled her close and hugged her a tad too tight.  
"Uh, you're welcome. And- and you're also wet. And naked. Uh, always happy when I can help. So..." Astrid squirmed out of Tuff's hug, gave him the towel and fled into her room.

Repeating to herself that she would do that for anyone in need Astrid laid down again and tried to find some sleep.  
She wouldn't let Tuffnut down.  
He was her friend at last, wasn't he?

~~~~~

"What happened to your face, have you been in a bar brawl?" Hiccup asked, half amusedly, half worried, when Tuff came to work on Wednesday.  
"Nah, didn't want to wake anyone up and spared switching the light on. Then I had a little accident in the dark," Tuff replied and rubbed over the cut above the eyebrow.

Hiccup gently touched the cut and hissed through his teeth: "Poor Tuffy, that looks hurtful. I hope you won't keep a scar from that."  
"Huh? Oh, but _I_ do. Scars are great, they tell stories. Cuts, scratches, serious burns – I have a lot of them. You know how that is – your leg is a story of its own."  
"Oh yeah, it tells a story about pain. Pain, _love_ it," Hiccup sarcastically replied and sat down on Tuff's desk with crossed arms.

"So, on Saturday... am I supposed to wear something special? Dresscode black?"  
"You should feel good in it. I don't care what you wear. I wouldn't recommend a kilt, I'd certainly try to peek under it all the time," Tuff grinned mischievously.  
"Ha, I bet you would!"

Hiccup realized Tuff's flirty tone and felt flattered.  
His heart also beat faster, when he was around Tuff.  
Being with this loveable dork felt comfortable and easy.  
But Hiccup had never been in love with a man before.  
He couldn't even tell if he really _was_ in love.  
There was definitely _something_. Some kind of feeling. Butterflies?

Hiccup would call his best friend later.  
Maybe she could give him advice.

~~~~~

The light in the living room of the penthouse was dimmed.  
Hiccup tossed the Whisky in his glass so that the ice cube made a clattering noise.  
Nervously he listened to the voice on the other end of the line and sipped his drink.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to think about that, you know? I mean, I'm not gay, I have never considered being with a man.  
I like female bodies," Hiccup explained to the person on the phone.  
"But you like his personality?" Heather replied from the other side of the country.  
"Yeah, I do. And I feel weirdly attracted to him, although he's the opposite of what I use to like. He doesn't even look especially good. I'd usually wrinkle my nose about guys like him if I saw him in the wild."

Now Heather laughed.  
"Hiccup, I guess you have a crush on him, just _because_ he's the opposite of what you usually like! You don't choose your partners by heart, but by logic. Astrid was exactly who suited you. In the beginning, you were in love, but at last, you were a couple because you were similar in regard to working habits."

Heather and Hiccup continued their call for a while.  
Before they said goodbye, Hiccup asked: "You won't tell Astrid that we're still talking? I don't want her to think that you might be the reason for our split up. Or that she'd think you betrayed her."

Heather was silent, but then she replied sighing: "No, I won't. But she probably knows anyway that we're having contact. You're my best friend. I can be friends with both of you. We're grown up. But I don't think _you're_ behaving like a grown-up. Too many secrets."  
"I know. Too much mind, too little heart.  
I just can't look her in the eye. She has tried so hard to meet my father's expectations for all those years and then I ditched her. It was a waste of her time and I have hurt her deeply. I hate to admit it, but I'm a coward."

"Yep, you are. But I love you anyway. You should try to do things differently now. Try to not play the same game with LaVerne."  
Hiccup didn't answer immediately.  
"Hiccup? If you can't love him, don't let him get too close to you."  
"Yeah, you're right. I'd better leave it before I do something stupid."  
"You could do something _crazy_ instead," Heather giggled, "listen to your heart and tell your mind to shut the fuck up!"

Hiccup smiled sadly.

~~~~~

On Saturday Tuff and Hiccup met in front of the indoor roller skating rink.  
"You look good," Hiccup greeted Tuff and to his own surprise, he meant what he said.  
Tuff was wearing a tight black shirt with Ruffnut's team's logo on it, black baggy pants, and his black chucks. A hoodie-jacket in camouflage pattern completed his outfit.

"What does your t-shirt say?" Hiccup wanted to know and pointed at the erupting volcano, the crevice, and the roller skate plowing through the earth fissures on Tuff's t-shirt.  
"Catastrophic Quakens. The team's name. I'm a little nervous, to be honest. You'll get to know one of my friends – and my sister! Shall we go in? The bout is about to start."

Tuff grabbed Hiccup's hand and dragged him to the tribunes.  
A chubby giant kept the seats next to him free.  
"That's Justin, my sister's boyfriend. But all call him Fishlegs. Legs, that's Hiccup, my boss's son and a new friend."  
"Nice to meet you," Fishlegs said and got up to shake Hiccup's hand.  
When Fishlegs reached out his huge arms, Hiccup noticed several tattoos on them.  
The face of the giant looked softer instead and his voice was almost squeaky.

"Do you know my sister?" Tuff asked.  
"No, I only saw her once when she talked to my dad, but she wouldn't take the job offer and I haven't seen her again since then."  
"Okay, she's the skinny one with the star on the helmet. Her task is to overhaul the pack of the opposing team, consisting of these blockers.  
She's one of the jammers, the fastest around. The other team has jammers too. There's only one jammer of each team on the track. They have to make more rounds than the other team."

When Ruff caught sight of Tuff in the crowd she showed him the devil horns.  
Tuff threw the gesture back at her and slammed his right fist into the palm of his left hand.  
Ruff nodded and got in her position.  
One of the referees blew the whistle to start the bout.  
Instantly she sped up and pushed through the pack of their rivals.

Astonished Hiccup watched the match and cast furtive glances at Tuff, who cheered and fired at his sister.  
In the break after the first jam, when Hiccup was getting something to drink with Fishlegs, Tuff jumped down the tribune and met her on the track.  
"Ugh, Tuffnut, get your dick off of our track, girls allowed only," one of the girls scoffed and Ruff replied with a groan: "Shut up, Metallicara, he hasn't even one!"  
Winking at Tuff Ruff asked: "What are you doing down here?"  
"Wanted to tell you that I want to introduce you to someone special later," Tuff grinned smugly and wiggled his brows.

"Yeah, looking forward to, now piss off, the bout goes on!"  
"Break a leg, Fartface," Tuff yelled and hauled himself up onto the tribune again.

After fifteen minutes, during her jam Ruff got blocked into her back and fell – the roller skate of her rival hit her nose and blood gushed out of her nostrils and from her split bottom lip.  
"Fuck, what was that? Referee, that was a foul!" Tuff furiously yelled at the referee, who was next to him.

While Tuff got into an argument with the referee, Hiccup felt light nausea – this wasn't what he had expected, although Tuff had exactly announced, what he now saw: violent girls on roller skates with bloody noses! And his date, if he wanted to call it like that, was absolutely losing his shit about his sister getting hurt.  
After a short consultation with the other referees, The Quakens got right.  
"Penalty for Deadly Daisy!"

Ruff rolled to the side and wiped her face, smeared with blood.  
"You look pretty shit," Tuff said to her.  
Dreadly Daisy had to sit at the side of the track for thirty seconds. But when she entered the bout again, Ruff was at the ready.  
"Screw it! I'll get her," she spat and went onto her position again.  
She sped up when she heard the whistle, fought through the pack, and bumped the player, who had fouled her, from the track with her hip.  
Deadly Daisy fell and somersaulted twice.

"Fuck yeah, in her face! Go, Ruffnut!" Tuff yelled and jumped onto Fishlegs back.  
"She's so fast! That's my sister!" Tuff got down from Fishlegs, excitedly bobbed, and pulled Hiccup closer by the collar.

"Have you seen all the blood? Ruff's so badass! She's so great," Tuff squeaked and trembled from excitement.  
Amusedly, Hiccup looked into Tuff's face, saw all the enthusiasm, the passion and love, and replied: "So are you!"

Tuff's eyes widened, then he took his chance and pressed his lips onto Hiccup's.  
Expecting to be shoved away, Tuff braced for the rejection, but instead, he felt Hiccup grab several of his dreadlocks and yanking him forward.  
With an irritated look Fishlegs gaped at the young men kissing, mumbling: "Okay, that's new!"

"Hey Ruffnut, isn't that your brother kissing that rich kid up there?" Metallicara asked.  
"Uuuhhh, that's my brother kissing his boss' son up there!"  
"Maybe he tries to sleep his way up the corporate ladder," Unbreakabella scoffed.

Ruff couldn't take her eyes off the kissing couple. "That's gross," she stated and shuddered.  
"Are you homophobic?" someone asked, but Ruff shook her head and muttered: "That's my _brother_! _He_ is gross! Ugh!"  
But then she smiled and left the track.

On socks and with a cool pack on her nose Ruff climbed up the tribune, looking for her brother, his new boyfriend, and Fishlegs.  
"Snookie-Pie, I've been sick with worry! How's your nose? Your shin is bleeding too."  
Ruffnut clung to Fishlegs in a frenzied kiss, then she let go of him and muttered: "Don't you dare to go away you! Now I have to care for these gay folks!"  
With these words, Ruff punched her brother's arm.

Tuff, sitting on Hiccup's lap, didn't break the kiss when he showed Ruff his middle finger.

"Ugh, moron! Listen, Fishlegs and I go have a pizza when I'm out of the shower. Maybe you want to come with us. Both of you. Or you alone, I can't even tell how many bodies I see right now. Could be that you're one person with two heads and many arms and hands that go where they shouldn't in public."

The tribune cleared slowly and players and the audience met outside the rink.

Ruff came out of the ladies' locker room, where Fishlegs waited for her.  
Together they waited until apparently everyone had gone.  
"I think we're alone now," Ruff gasped and unzipped Fishlegs' cargo pants.  
"I don't care, I need you right now," Fishlegs replied and shoved his hands down Ruff's shirt.  
"You don't wear a bra," he found out and pinched her nipples.  
Then he groped under her skirt, pulled her panty to the side and slid his index into her pulsating core.  
"Wanted to make it easier. Suck on them, honey," Ruff hummed and snuck her hand into Fishleg's underwear, where she got a grip on his hard length.

Fishlegs bent down to close his lips around Ruff's nipples, as she heard someone walk through the stairwell.  
Quickly she pulled Fishlegs with her behind a beverage dispenser.  
"There's still someone around," he whispered and looked into Ruff's eyes, his own gaze dark with lust.

"Oh yeah. We better speed up!"  
Ruff pulled Fishleg's erect cock from his trunks and stroked it fast.  
Fishlegs grabbed Ruff's butt and lifted her up so that she could wrap her legs around his waist.  
For a moment she hovered over his cock, until he lowered her and slowly pushed himself into her wet sex.

Leaning against the wall, Ruff started to rock her hips.  
Fishlegs suckled her nipples again, giving them a flick with his tongue and biting them carefully.  
He elicited a low moan from her, which made him thrust harder into her soft flesh.  
"Oh yeah, just like that! Fuck me just like that!"

Ruff was distracted by the sound of a heavy moan that definitely hadn't come from Fishlegs' mouth.  
The thought of another couple having sex somewhere in the building fired her passion and made her bounce faster on Fishlegs's lap.  
This angle was great to hit the right spot!

Ruff desperately rode Fishlegs' huge cock and finally came with a muffled scream, as he pressed his lips to hers.  
Fishlegs' climax followed on the heel and heavily breathing he placed his head on Ruff's shoulder before he let her slide down.

Ruff grabbed a towel, which she just had used after the shower, and wiped her crotch, then Fishleg's crotch and stuffed the wet towel back into the sports bag.  
Shutting his pants, Fishlegs heard steps approach.  
"Seems like we finished just in time," he breathlessly stated.  
"Shhh," Ruff giggled and curiously peeked around the beverage dispenser.

Tuffnut and Hiccup appeared, Hiccup looking distinctly more tousled than before and Tuff was sporting a huge bulge below his waistline.  
"I'm so sorry, I have to go now," Hiccup tried to say between fiery kisses.  
"There's still work left on my desk. But we'll meet on Monday, promised. I pick you up after work and we'll have a cozy evening."

"Oh, don't go, I need you," Tuff whined and ground his crotch at Hiccup's leg.  
With a troubled expression, Hiccup stared at Tuff's bulge and went backward to the door.  
"Don't be mad at me, I really have to go," he said but continued to kiss Tuff.

Tuff couldn't keep himself from sliding his hand into his pants and rubbing his length.  
That was the moment when Ruff stopped her spying and squeezed her eyes shut.  
Also, Fishlegs felt uncomfortable watching his brother-in-law desperately seeking relief.

"Now, really! I have to go. I'm looking forward to seeing you on Monday," they heard Hiccup say and a disappointed groan of Tuffnut.  
Hiccup left with long strides, turning around several times to shoot his brightest smile at Tuff.

Tuff stood in the doorframe and had the arms crossed in front of his chest.  
"You smell like testosterone," Ruff snickered when she pushed past Tuff out of the building.  
Tuff grinned like a Cheshire cat and shrugged.  
"Would you mind hiding your huge boner?" she asked with a short glance to his crotch, but Tuff shrugged again.  
After a moment he asked without stopping his grinning: "And where would you suggest should I hide it?"

Fishlegs shoved Tuff aside and made his way to get out of the building too.  
"You're leaking," he stated, nodded towards the wet spot on Tuff's groin, and stood next to Ruff, who watched the black Mustang disappear around the corner.  
"Have you sucked him off?" she bluntly asked.  
"Nah, jerked him," Tuff answered.  
"And he wouldn't do that for you? That's poor!"  
"I don't mind. I'm in love!"  
"I would call that 'taking advantage of your crush'," Fishlegs mumbled.  
"And I would call that _bonding_ ," Tuff happily sighed, before he went into the rink again.  
"Where do you go?" Fishlegs asked as he walked to his car.  
"I have to take care of something. Won't take long, promised," Tuff smiled mischievously.

Ruff and Fishlegs exchanged a look.  
Ruff wrinkled her nose.  
"I don't know how I shall ever get rid of these pictures in my mind again."  
At that moment they heard Tuff grunt relievedly.  
"Me neither," Fishlegs agreed and shuddered.

Tuff came back and wiped his hands on his pants.  
"Feeling better?" Ruff asked and dropped on the rear seat.  
Instead of an answer Tuff smirked sheepishly and sat down next to her.  
"And now, tell me _everything_ about him," she demanded while Fishlegs started the car.


	9. Seduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Astrid meets Eret, catching up on the last date they had.  
> Although everything is fine, _better_ than fine, she still has a queasy feeling.  
> Tuff and Hiccup also have a date and both of them feel awkward and clumsy in this new situation - none of them had ever been together with another man.

Tuff laid on his belly on Astrid's bed and smiled like a maniac, wearing Garfield boxers and a t-shirt she had never seen before on him.  
"And then he has left you with a boner? That's mean, why wouldn't he return the favour? I bet he would have had the time to get you off!" Astrid wasn't sure what she should think about Tuff's crush's behaviour.  
She sat on her chair with pulled up legs and glanced at Tuff, who seemed to be glowing from inside.

"Ruff said the same. Do you think that this is so important? He said he was looking forward to seeing me again. We meet tomorrow after work," Tuff shrugged and played with the fringes of the bedspread.

"Important... um, it's not unimportant. Seems as if he was only mindful of his own benefit. You should be careful, I bet Ruff wouldn't want you to get hurt, and I don't want that either."  
"You're so sweet, A! We're in love, he won't hurt me!" Tuff laughed and sat up.  
As he did so, he leaned back, legs spread.

Astrid was able to gaze into the legs of his boxers from the position she was in.  
Laboriously she tried to find something else she could focus on and looked at her wall, where lots of pictures of her and Minden, her and her parents, her and Heather and her with her flatmates were looking back at her.

Tuff told about the mysterious man he met, without giving away too much information.  
"Why aren't you allowed to tell us his name?" Astrid asked and focused on her patchwork rug when Tuff got up and adjusted his manhood.  
Geesh, she would get a stiff neck, if she continued avoiding Tuff's obvious bulge in his boxers.  
Her attention was drawn to his body middle, although he wasn't even erect.

"The boss asked for discretion and secrecy according to all that has to do with work. And he's my colleague, more or less, so that might be included in the confidentiality clause.  
Telling you a name could give away where I work and I'm not allowed to tell anyone about it.  
Maybe later, if he agrees.

But how has your night been? Why are you even here and not with your new lover?

Astrid got lost in thoughts. 

_Dressed in her short black sequin dress, a short jeans jacket, and sneakers, Astrid had walked to Eret.  
In her backpack were her high heels and some things she could use for a sleepover at Eret._

_She rang the bell and Eret opened.  
He looked great, but he always did, no matter if he was wearing his working clothes, or casual jeans and a t-shirt, or a shirt and suit-pants.  
That was, what Eret was wearing this day: narrow, black, straight suit pants and an olive coloured shirt, sleeves rolled up, as he used to wear his shirts habitually._

_Astrid ran one hand through his still moist hair and smiled at him.  
Obviously, he had taken a shower shortly before and wasn't finished dressing yet.  
"You look wonderful. And you smell fantastic," Astrid said and her heart fluttered.  
This handsome man was interested in her and patiently waited for her to date him._

_Eret returned the gentle gesture, took Astrid's chin, and breathed a gossamer kiss onto her lips.  
"You're beautiful! Come in, I prepared something for us!"  
Eret led Astrid to his couch and served a Martini – with olive this time._

_"I thought we start from scratch. A drink and a little snack as a basis for what is to come."  
On a wooden slat were grapes, cheese and crackers.  
Astrid felt a bit embarrassed and started to giggle.  
"I've been pretty drunk last time, huh? I'm sorry that I sabotaged our date."_

_Eret shrugged and fed her with a grape.  
Then he brushed over her lips with his thumb.  
"I think we had an awesome date. We had so much fun, we talked all night and we kissed – that has definitely **not** been my worst date."_

_Astrid leaned forward in anticipation to kiss Eret, but he leaned back and took a cracker instead.  
"I want to see you dance tonight, so eat a bite, drink your Martini and let's get started," he said and grinned mischievously.  
Flusteredly, Astrid stared at Eret, as she thought that he might be playing with her, but his smile was innocent and roguish.  
He did his hair up into a bun and then clapped his hands onto his thighs.  
"Ready?"_

_Putting two crackers at once in her mouth, Astrid got up, took the pair of high heels from her backpack and changed her shoes.  
Then she took a handful of diced cheese and grapes, stuffed it into her cheeks and muffledly tried to say: "Let's go then."_

_Eret laughed out loud and slipped into his shoes.  
"You're funny, intelligent and beautiful. Now let's see how you move on the dancefloor," he claimed and opened the door for her.  
Astrid made an exaggerated curtsy.  
Oh, dear! She was horrified to discover, that she behaved like her flatmates now.  
She hopefully wouldn't start scratching her butt, burping, or fistbump Eret after smelling her armpits._

_Eret didn't live far from the club and they walked there.  
While a lot of people were waiting in a line outside, Eret was beckoned to went right through the door.  
"I have once worked here. The only advantage, if you ask me. Far too often I was spat at, beaten, insulted. And the working time is a pile of yakshit! The payment is a joke. But better than doing nothing."_

_They handed in their jackets at the cloakroom and entered the hall.  
Astrid liked the music and felt her body willing to move.  
"Do you want to get an overview first?" Eret asked, but Astrid shouted back: "I want to dance!"_

_Astrid watched Eret dance – his movements were smooth and rhythmical.  
It was a pleasure to see him move.  
A lot of women stared blatantly at him.  
No, he was hers, Astrid thought and danced closer to him.  
Sometimes they made a break outside to have fresh air. They drank cocktails and they danced, alone and together._

_At some point Eret curved into Astrid from behind, shoved his knee between her thighs, placed his strong hands on her hips, ran his hands up to her ribs.  
Like on command the song switched into something slow and Astrid turned around.  
She clung to Eret's shoulders, stretched her neck to reach his mouth at the same time he bent down to kiss her lips, which were slightly opened._

_A kiss, soft like a feather tickled their lips, the taste of sweet alcohol fired their lust for more.  
Playfully, Astrid stuck her tongue between Eret's lips, traced his teeth and nudged his tongue._

_Eret pulled Astrid close, rolled his hips against hers, and let her feel his growing interest.  
"Let's go home," she moaned at his ear, parting with a gentle bite into his lobe._

_At the checkout they got their jackets handed back and Eret paid the consumption ticket for them both.  
On their way back home Astrid slipped out of her shoes and made the rest of their way barefoot.  
She grabbed Eret's hand and dragged him behind her.  
Laughing, they ran until they reached his house.  
In the entrance they kissed again, clasped tightly._

_Eret unlocked the door and fidgety because of their passion Astrid and Eret stumbled up the stairs.  
Finally, finally, they arrived in Eret's apartment.  
Before Eret had shut the door, Astrid had pulled her dress over her head and stood in front of him in her best black bra and panties._

_Eret growled lowly and unbuttoned his shirt.  
It only took moments to undress, and he took Astrid in his arms and carried her to his bed like a hungry wolf carried his prey to his den.  
When he had placer her on the cool sheets, Eret started to kiss Astrid, eliciting moans of joy from her throat.  
He leaned over her and caressed her shapes with his calloused hands._

_Astrid followed the lines and hills of Eret's muscles with her fingers, causing goosebumps on his chest.  
With furrowed brows, she noticed many bigger scars on his upper body – and a really nasty tattoo.  
She traced some of the scars and broke their kiss to ask: "What has happened to you?"  
"Long story, wrong time," Eret replied and pushed his crotch against Astrid's thigh, showing her that he was in the mood for other things._

_"We need a condom," Astrid moaned and hated that she couldn't tolerate the pill.  
Eret didn't seem to bother to have to interrupt their foreplay, with a quick grip he had taken a condom from his nightstand and rolled it over his erect cock._

_Astrid had to force herself not to think about Tuffnut, who had ejaculated when she had tried to roll the rubber over his erection.  
Eret's cock was quite different, also big and nicely shaped, tapered to the tip and with a curve upwards._

_Eret lined up between Astrid's thighs and looked into her eyes when he entered her wet core.  
Slowly he pushed his length into her and started to move gently.  
It didn't feel great at once, Astrid figured disappointed, but Eret was very attentive and asked: "Do I hurt you?"  
Astrid shook her head. "No, you don't. But this position doesn't seem to be optimal for me."  
Eret leg Astrid get up and climb onto his lap._

_She lowered herself on his cock and rapture seized her, when Eret's curved length hit her G-Spot.  
"Oooooh, that's it! Oh Eret," Astrid moaned passionately.  
She arched into the movement of his hips, tossed her head backwards, and exposed her neck._

_Eret didn't hesitate and sucked her neck, bit her soft skin, and scraped over her collar bones.  
With his tongue, he circled her rosy buds and made Astrid squirm.  
The more Eret sucked on her nipples, the faster she rode his lap, let his steel-hard cock slip in and out of her dripping slit._

_A toe-curling sensation tingled in her lower belly, as Astrid felt her orgasm build up.  
Like a storm it hit her, ready to carry her away on wings of pleasure, and she was up, up in the skies, flying... and free falling! Astrid screamed out her arousal, the relieving pounding of her sex, all thoughts and worries were far away, only she and this wonderful man were here.  
Astrid dug her nails into his shoulders, afraid to collapse, lightheaded and dizzy._

_She opened her eyes and Eret's fascinated gaze met hers, wet lips opened, heavy breathing...  
He swapped her onto her back and entered her pulsation channel, thrust into her, took possession of her, filled her and made her feel taken._

_Eret didn't take his eyes off of Astrid, when he encountered her with measured strikes, tortured himself until the end, when he shivered and bucked his hips forward as he came.  
He didn't grunt or growl, he moaned and the sound of his deep voice tickled Astrid's stomach._

_When the twitching of his cock was over he pulled out and removed the condom.  
All he did happen with a certain flow.  
He was self-confident and knew what he did.  
Most likely he had done it often before, Astrid thought, but she felt no jealousy about it.  
In fact, she was grateful, that she wouldn't have to tell him, how it worked to satisfy her.  
Their bodies seemed to be made for each other._

_Eret laid down next to Astrid, propped on his arm.  
"You look stunning when you come," he stated and his gaze was warm, gave Astrid a feeling of home and safety, coziness and trust.  
She kissed him and gently ran her fingers over his chest until she stopped at his tattoo._

_Eret sighed and muttered: "That will probably ruin the mood, but I guess you won't stop asking about it. I have a past I'm not proud of.  
When I was younger I ran away from home. My parents were hard-working people, they didn't do anything that would ever hurt me or my sisters. But I wanted to break free from this cage. We never had much money and we couldn't go on vacation. I wanted to see the world and wrote a letter, that I would leave to find my luck out there in the far._

_I was seventeen and not even finished with school. Young, naive, and full of unrealistic dreams I left my home and my family.  
Soon I realized that I wouldn't find a proper job to earn money for all I wanted to see.  
The romantic thoughts of sleeping under the stars disappeared when the nights became cold.  
I was a homeless tramp.  
And then there was this guy. He hired me. I was part of their gang. Their property. I got this tattoo so that I never forgot who I belong._

_For four years I led a life in crime and danger.  
But then I got to know Dagur.  
He understood in which situation I had brought myself and helped me get away from this gang.  
He had been in prison himself, a purified criminal._

_He helped me out of this swamp and brought me far away.  
We started a new life here. Dagur opened his workshop and taught me all about cars that I know today.  
First, he worked in a garage, a literal garage, with inferior tools, but his work was good and he was quite cheap.  
It didn't take long to build up a solid customer base.  
I worked as a bouncer at the "Stormfly" at night and during the daytime, I learned from Dagur.  
I guess I haven't ever slept so little in my life, like back then.  
Soon Dagur expanded and specialized on Oldtimers._

_One day in the next year an angry little man stood in the workshop and asked for a job.  
Every college he had applied to had rejected him and he didn't want to move away from this town, because he had to care for his friend, he said.  
Dagur gave him a job and the boy was an enrichment, skillful, busy, always on time, seldom sick.  
That's how I got to know Gary._

_His friend came to pick him up sometimes, but then I found out, that it was a girl, his girlfriend to be exact. Ha, there were two of these guys, a girl and a boy and both were like little siblings to Gary.  
When he and this girl didn't date anymore, she tried to seduce me, but I've been twenty-two and she's been seventeen and a sassy brat. Soon after that, she didn't show up anymore, because she was in a relationship with a classmate. I was safe. But the other twin hung out with us sometimes. _

_Once when he was drunk, Gary told me, that I remind him of his big brother and that I was all he longed to be. I have never done something to him, but he holds a grudge against me. Dagur tries to separate us at work so that it is comfortable for all of us, but it doesn't always work.  
He's a good colleague, but very jealous.  
If he knew what I've been through he wouldn't wish to be in my skin._

_Yeah, skin: the scars are from fights, from threats, from punishments, when the leader had to show me who was the boss. What happened, if I wouldn't obey."_

_Astrid had listened attentively and nodded understanding.  
"We all have our past. I'm glad that we met in the present and that I am allowed to get to know you as a decent young man with a sense of responsibility.  
Do you still have contact with your family?"_

_"No, that's too dangerous. The gang would probably find them and do ineffable things to them to get their revenge on me. That's the price I have to pay for my life."_

_Astrid pulled Eret close and he rested his head on her chest.  
Her steady heartbeat made him drowsy and soon after he fell soundly asleep, while she stroked his face._

_A few hours later Astrid startled awake and had to process where she was.  
Her mind came back to consciousness and she remembered, that she was with Eret.  
Carefully she climbed out of his bed and went to the bathroom.  
When she came back, she couldn't lay down next to Eret anymore.  
She didn't know how she could wake up next to him in the morning.  
Was she afraid of him? Rubbish! Was she in love with him? Possibly._

_The moon threw its pale light through the window and Eret's sleeping form looked strange to her.  
Suddenly she felt her throat narrow and her heartbeat increased alarmingly.  
Was that a panic attack?  
Confused and scared Astrid got dressed as quickly as she could, grabbed her backpack, and left the apartment._

_On tiptoes she entered her flat and was welcomed by familiar noises: the whirring of the fridge, Snotlout's soft snoring, Tuff's low music.  
Relievedly, Astrid stowed her jacket, slipped out of her sneakers and changed her clothes.  
Damn, she had forgotten her bra!  
No matter when and how she had to contact Eret. Not only because she wanted to have back her best bra._

"I couldn't sleep there. I missed my blanket and my pillow and my idiotic flatmates," Astrid replied.  
"Oh, charming! Maybe you should call him and tell him that you gladly exchanged his presence against your bedding," Tuff suggested and smirked.

Reacting to that would mean to discuss what she actually wanted to repress.  
So Astrid decided to ignore Tuff's sentence and ask instead: "What shall we call your mysterious lover boy then?"  
"Call him perfect," Tuff dramatically sighed and dropped onto Astrid's bed again.  
"When are you going to see him again?"  
"Tomorrow after work," Tuff said and hugged Astrid's pillow.  
"Great. Don't forget to jack off before you meet, so you won't feel too disappointed when he kicks you out without having put his hands on you again."

"Bitch," Tuff hissed and Astrid jumped onto him and tickled him.  
"No, I'm sorry! You're my queen and I'm your fool, I don't know what I'm talking about! I surrender!" Tuff squeaked and fell out of the bed.  
"Get your butt out of here, you!" Astrid laughed and gestured "I'll be watching you!"  
She had forgotten about the t-shirt Tuff was wearing. 

Tuff could hardly wait for Monday to come.  
When his work was done, he strolled over to Hiccup's office and knocked.  
"Good that you're here, I just wanted to pick you up," Hiccup said and Tuff would have loved to pull him close, to kiss him fervently.  
But that would have to wait.  
Hiccup locked his office and took Tuff to his car.

On their ride to Hiccup's apartment they hardly talked, Tuff felt too shy and his face burnt because of embarrassment.  
"Is everything okay?" Hiccup asked and took Tuff's hand.  
"I'm nervous," Tuff admitted and looked onto Hiccup's and his hand, fingers intertwining.

"You don't have to. I won't bite. Except you want me to," Hiccup smirked and squeezed Tuff's hand.  
After parking his car, Hiccup rushed over to the elevator.  
When Tuff wanted to kiss him, he pushed him softly away.  
"Here are cameras everywhere," he explained.

Hiccup had a small talk with Gobber in the lobby, then they finally entered the elevator to Hiccup's penthouse on the top floor of the building.

The elevator seemed to need infinity to reach the last station, and Tuff shifted his weight from one foot onto the other.  
Hiccup noticed that but didn't mention it.  
The doors were hardly open when Hiccup nodded at Tuff to follow.  
As soon as the door was opened, Tuff shoved Hiccup inside and pushed him against the wall.

Without switching on the light Tuff kissed Hiccup, bit his lips, and took his breath away.  
The heat of their kisses made Tuff's cock react and he moaned at Hiccup's mouth.

"Wait, Tuff, wait please!" Hiccup tried to break free from Tuff's hungry rapprochement.  
Tuff could hardly focus but was determined to pay attention to what Hiccup said and to ignore his throbbing length.

Hiccup switched the light on.  
"I have never been with a man. I don't know how it works," Hiccup started, but Tuff snorted: "All I have, you have too. I bet you know pretty good how it works!"

"Uh, I meant p- penetration," Hiccup announced.  
"Oh, uh, I haven't even thought about it. I haven't been with a man either so far and I thought we... we could... uh, smooch and make out and see where it will lead us? But if you want to try, I could bring lube next time," Tuff stuttered and sheepishly turned his left foot.

"No, I- I have lube. But do you know if we need some sort of preparation? Cleaning the bowel or something?"  
"I have no idea. I'd do it, but I have no fucking clue!"

Hiccup grabbed Tuff by the waist and closed the distance between them.  
"I don't even know how you look undressed. Maybe your dick is a rugose, ugly pickle with warts on it," he chuckled.  
"Careful, Mister! We're very vulnerable and you don't want us to get mad at you," Tuff admonished and took off his hoodie and t-shirt before he unbuttoned his jeans.  
First Tuff kicked off his Vans, then he pulled down his jeans and boxers, revealing his erection.  
"Okay, that's no rugose, ugly pickle, that's a beautiful, but terrifying large cock," Hiccup stated with widened eyes.  
"The question who penetrates who has become superfluous now."

"So, you would like to penetrate me?" Tuff asked smiling at Hiccup's mouth and his erection poked Hiccup's belly button.  
"I don't want to sound rude, but you will definitely not stuff this monster into my hindquarters," Hiccup declared and caressed Tuff's tiny nipples, sending a shiver down his spine.

Tuff stepped out of his pants and followed Hiccup to the bedroom.  
Being fully exposed made him feel self-conscious and a little anxious.  
Hiccup was still fully dressed and he hadn't said anything nice about Tuff's body, except that his cock was beautiful. And terrifying.

Hiding behind his hair, Tuff sat down on Hiccup's bed, knees pulled up and with his arms wrapped around them.  
If he could have disappeared, he would have!

Hiccup undressed and felt weird to show himself to a young man instead of a woman.  
His shoulders were even narrower than Tuff's, his chest less toned.  
Actually, Hiccup's body was straight from chest to toe.  
A little auburn hair covered the middle of his chest and formed a line between his belly button and his pubic hair.  
Tuff shook strands of his dreadlocks out of his face and leaned back.  
Gazing at Hiccup's body let him realize that he had found imperfect perfection in the man in front of him.

"I think that you look pretty neat," Tuff said and nodded.  
"Neat?" Hiccup repeated and huffed a laugh.  
"Neat," Tuff confirmed and reached out his hand to pull Hiccup into the bed.  
"I won't ever hurt you," Tuff whispered and tried to shield his manhood from Hiccup's skeptical glances.

Hiccup slid closer, cupped Tuff's face and kissed him gently.  
Tuff's hands clasped to Hiccup's hands and he smelled his aftershave, felt the softness of his skin.  
Slowly Tuff ran down his fingertips on Hiccup's arms, noticing hair and birthmarks.  
Freckles spread over Hiccup's forearms, his shoulders, his face and Tuff wanted to touch each of them.

He had never felt like that, so careful and nervous, but also determined to explore every single inch of the body in front of him.  
Being with Astrid had felt completely different – arousal had taken control over his body then, also his wish to be near her, in her, around her.  
It had worked without thinking about it.

Now he thought about every single movement, about damping his enthusiasm, about touching Hiccup in places, he had never touched a man beside himself before.  
Usually, Tuff didn't count thinking to his greatest strengths, but in this case, he couldn't rely on his instincts and impulses – too fragile was the bond between Hiccup and him, too delicate the trust into each other.

"I want you to touch me," Tuff murmured at Hiccup's mouth and took one of his lover's hands to place it on his chest.  
Hiccup's hand rested there, pinched Tuff's nipple, scratched the sensitive skin.  
But he wouldn't slide his hand further south, as Tuff had hoped he would.

"Can I touch you?" Tuff asked timidly and his hands hovered over Hiccup's hips.  
In the heat of the moment in the rink, Tuff's mind only had reacted and he had raided Hiccup with a handjob.  
But now? They were alone, there was no danger of getting caught, everything happened much more conscious.

Hiccup nodded and let Tuffnut place his hands on his hips, brushing his thumbs over his hipbones, fingers reaching out to Hiccup's butt.  
This was no exceptional situation, this was his home, Hiccup thought.  
He could decide what he would let happen.  
Damn, his mind was taking over again. Too much mind, too little heart.  
But if he listened to his heart, he would hear a scared voice whisper, that he was in love, that all was new, that all his money and power couldn't help him now.  
You're not gay, his mind interrupted. This is an exception. You're curious, you want to make new experiences. But you're not gay, don't let Tuffnut enter your rear end. 

Hiccup's thoughts tumbled around and he leaned back so that Tuff couldn't reach his butt anymore. Instead, Tuff reached down, got a grip of Hiccup's cock and fought down the disappointment, when he found out, that he wasn't erect.  
His own cock begged for attention and throbbed.

Gently, Tuff took Hiccup's hand to place it on his length, but Hiccup pulled his hand back.  
In Hiccup's head popped up an imaginary list:  
Getting touched at his cock – okay.  
Getting sucked off – okay.  
Getting kissed and kissing back – okay.  
Getting touched at his buttcheeks – okay.  
Penetrate another man, whether with his cock or his fingers – okay.  
Getting touched at his rim – no go.  
Getting penetrated – no go.  
Touch another man's cock or his secretions – no go.  
Suck another man's cock - no go.

All a woman could do with _him_ and all _he_ could do with a woman was okay for Hiccup, also in men. Women had no penis. Hiccup wouldn't actively touch a penis, not yet.

Tuff grabbed his manhood and started to rub it.  
Due to his short attention span, he couldn't focus on anything else.  
"Wait, what are you doing?" Hiccup asked with a nervous glance at Tuff's cock, that aimed at his belly.  
"I hadn't assumed that I would have to explain that," Tuff chuckled.  
"And where did you think you would squirt at?"  
"I- I haven't thought at all," Tuff admitted. This situation felt awkward and exhausting. 

Something in Hiccup's mind switched – he had Tuff exactly where he wanted him to be: needy, whiny, obviously enamored, and willing to do what Hiccup demanded.  
Hiccup felt his own cock harden. He pushed Tuff onto his back and straddled him. Their cocks touched and Tuff moaned.  
Hiccup bent down to kiss Tuff, and the blonde gladly returned the kiss.  
Oh yes, he would be in control, he would dominate this poor, horny guy.

"Now touch me," Hiccup commanded and Tuff started hesitantly to rub Hiccup's length.  
"Oh yeah, that's it," Hiccup hummed and bit Tuff's neck.  
Tuff moaned louder and panted full of joy and pain.  
"You like that?" Hiccup wanted to know and looked at Tuff's face.

Nodding frantically, Tuff sped up the pace of his hand, with which he pleasured Hiccup.  
The brunette bent down again, nibbed Tuff's nipples and pulled them with his teeth.

Tuff gasped and grabbed his cock – it was unfamiliar to use his left hand for that, but he found a rhythm soon.  
With his right hand, he jerked Hiccup and felt his heartbeat increase – when Hiccup went on hurting him this special way, Tuff wouldn't need long to climax.

"Hiccup, could you take over for a moment? I'm not lefthanded and my wrist hurts a bit," Tuff gasped.  
"Sure," Hiccup smirked, but instead of taking over Tuff's cock, he grabbed his own, "now you can continue with your right hand."  
"That was not exactly what I meant, but okay." Tuff was relieved to being able to handle his cock the way he was used to it and very quickly he felt the distinct tension in his testicles, the pressure of his prostate, the tearing sensation of his shaft hardening before he would release his seed.

Hiccup moaned loud and moved his hand faster.  
"Are you close?" he wanted to know, as he watched Tuff biting his lower lip.  
Tuff couldn't vocalize his arousal, he just nodded and arched his back.  
The sight of this young man squirming under him, who was covered in bite marks and sweat, hardly responsive, rubbing his cock, made Hiccup buck his hips, as his orgasm washed over him like an earthquake, let him tremble and erupt like a volcano.  
Hot seed spilled on Tuff's hip, but he was lost in his own world, his mind blank.

Tuff only consisted of feelings and sensations, he was a breathing swarm of butterflies, a twitching wire, electrified, a pulsating heart, a raging torrent, and his climax was unstoppable, burning heat, liquid pain, relieving void.

"Impressive," Hiccup said when Tuff opened his eyes.  
He had backed away a little and stared at Tuff's body with astonishment.  
Tuff peeked down on his belly and chest.  
There were several blotches of cum on him, he must have squirted at least four times.  
"Oh. Oh, fuck! Usually, I don't do it without a cloth or a napkin. Or a handkerchief. To be honest, I use quite everything around what has to get washed anyway. One of my flatmates always complains about clotted underwear or socks."

Tuff winked and Hiccup made a sound of disgust.  
"Ugh Tuff, you're not being serious!"  
"Of course I am! Would you get up, run around in your penthouse and look for a handkerchief, when you're just about to cum? I don't think so."

Hiccup laughed and took Tuff's hands to pull him up.  
"Let's get you clean." He gritted his teeth and gestured to Tuff's soiled skin.  
"And what about cuddling?"  
"You must be kidding! I don't want to be glued to you with our spunk."

Maybe Hiccup didn't notice, but his word choice was kind of rude, Tuff thought and grinned nevertheless: "I could imagine worse than being glued to you."  
Hiccup smiled and kissed Tuff gently, careful not to touch him.

Tuff and Hiccup kissed in the shower, they kissed when they wiped each other dry, they kissed between their attempts to get dressed and they kissed when they stumbled and fell to the fluffy carpet.  
They kissed until their lips were sore and brittle, they kissed, when Tuff had to leave, when Hiccup pulled Tuff back into his doorway, and before the doors of the elevator closed.

If you can't love him, don't let him get too close to you, was what Heather had said.  
Hiccup could love Tuff, god, he had a major crush on this weirdo.  
But Hiccup also knew that he wasn't allowed to.  
It wouldn't work and in the end, they both were hurt.  
Just this moment, I want to enjoy just this moment, Hiccup thought.  
This moment won't ever come back.  
And with a fluttering heart, he went to bed, where he nuzzled into the pillows, smelled the scent of Tuff's hair and couldn't tell why it seemed so familiar to him.


End file.
